


l\W 






Kwm™t 



Hb 






• :«tt*A;..v> 









I ■ 



■ 

■ ■ 

!£K9a MSA! i&y 

■ 












jEtttf 



** 



OUTLINES 



OF 



ENGLISH HISTORY 

FOR JUNIOR CLASSES IN SCHOOLS ; 

OR, 

A FIRST BOOK 

FOR PUPILS PREPARING FOR PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS. 
BY ROBERT ROSS, 

LECTURER OK HISTORY, 

NORMAL COLLEGE, CHELTENHAM. 
NINETY-SIXTH THOUSAND. 



LONDON: 

SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO. 



[PRICE TWO SHILLINGS A.ND SIXPENCE.] 



Wl- ? 



-T, 






I'fiXT-BOOKS FOR MIDDLE CLASS EXAMINATIONS 

[Entered at Stationer*' ilaU.i 



BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 
In crown &vo., Revised Edition, price 5s. Qd. cloth, 

A MANUAL OF ENGLISH HISTORY, for Senior Classes in 
Scnools; or, a Second Book for Pupils preparing lor Public Examinations. 
This work contains, besides the ordinary narrative of event*, about fifty panes 
of closeh printed matter, in the shape ot Biographical and other Notes, neces- 
sary for examinees, but not to be ibuud in any other school history. 

"Mr. Ross's object has been to put into the hands of all who seek, especially 
with a view to its reproduction at examination, a knowledge of English History 
which shall be full, accurate, and compact. To secure this object, ail has been 
done which labor.ous, painstaking energy, an impartial judgment, and a very 
large practical experience of the real wants of learners could contribute ; and 
the result is a thoroughly sound and good Manual. . . . The notes and 
illustrations throughout are thoroughly well done, and add greatly to the value 
of the Manual. The subjects have been well chosen, and a great deal oi 
learning has been condensed iu their treatment."— Papers for the Schoolmaster. 

" Sucli a work could only be produced by one thoroughly up in the subject, 
and to whom care and pains were no barriers. As a practical Text-book for the 
s'udent, it is exactly adapied to his wants, and from exp- rieuce we can affirm 
that he wili find in it all his studies may require. The a; rangeinent is excellent, 
and the style easy and vigorous." — Englis/i Journal of Education. 

"A very noticeable trait in this volume is the notes and illustrations. Thes* 
have been carefully selected Irom very many historical wi iters. The plan 
of the book, and indeed its execution also, seem both very good." — Education** 
Times. 

" The best Text-book of English History for a student who wisbei to get 
up * good stock of information in a short time." — The Pupil Teach*?. 









/ Vtf 



±9 

PREFACE. 



So long as English History was used in schools merely as 
ii reading lesson, there was little to complain of, in the 
usual run of school books on tlxat subject, except their 
incorrectness. But under the pressure of various kinds of 
public examinations, English History is now becoming a 
subject of study in all good schools, and a demand is 
made for another description of manuals. 

In constructing a school history for young students, the 
writer has kept in view two points — correctness in the 
subject-matter, and method in the arrangement. 

Few points, in connexion with education in this 
country, are more remarkable than the fact that nearly 
i the whole of our present text-books on English History 
are notoiiously incorrect. The old fables about Alfred's 
being taught to read by his step-mother Judith, his in- 
stitution of trial by jury, his division of England into 
counties, &c, scarcely ever fail to be repeated, together 
with innumerable other facts equally veracious. The 
proof of this statement may be seen at length, in an able 
article on " School Histories of England," in the Gentle- 
man's Magazine for March and June, 1859. In preparing 
the present " Outlines," great care has been taken, ai-d. 
only reliable authorities consulted; neither has any 
matter been introduced which will not be serviceable as 
the foundation of a more extended course of reading. 



iv PREFACE. 

With regai d to the method, th6 object has been to 
group the main facts of our history, and present them to 
the learner in broad outline. It is only in this way that 
a clear and connected view of the leading events can be 
obtained, and a fair chance given to the pupil of retaining 
what he has gone over ; unless, indeed, there be given to 
him sufficient time to draw out the outlines for himself 
from the larger histories, a process which pays well, 
provided a proper superintendence keeps the pupil in a 
right course. 

June, 1860. 



PKEFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 

The present edition of the " Outlines " differs from th<3 
first, only in the correction of some typographical errors, 
and the addition of a series of questions for written exa- 
minations. It is gratifying to the author that a large 
edition should have been disposed of in a few months, 
and his thanks are due to those teachers who h>we done 
Him so much honour. 



ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



British Period. 

Avw 

The Ancient Britons. Civil, Religious, and Social Insti- 
tutions of the Britons — Employments of the Britons ,«, 1 

Roman Period. 

The Romans in Britain. Caesar's two invasions — Subjuga- 
tion of Britain by the Romans — Improvements consequent 
on the Roman Conquest — Roman government in Britain 
— Invasions of Roman Britain — The Romaus abandon 
Britain S 

Saxon Period. 

Thb Saxon Conquest. Britain after its desertion by the 
Romans — Formation of the Saxon kingdoms — What be- 
came of the Ancient Britons ? 9 

The Saxon Heptarchy. The Saxon Bretwaldas : Ella, Ceaw- 
lin, Ethelbert, Redwald, Edwin, Oswald, and Oswy — 
Introduction of Christianity — The three dominant Saxon 
States: Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex 12 

The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom. Egbert 800 : Ethelwulf 837 : 
Ethelbald858 : Ethelbert 8G0 : Ethelred 866 : Alfred the 
Great 871: Edward the Elder 901: Athelstan 925: 
Edmund 940 : Edred 946 : Edwy 955 : Edgar 958 : Edward 
the Martyr 975 : Ethelred the Unready 978 : Edmund 
Ironside 1016 — Three Danish kings rule in England: 
Canute 1016:'Harold Harefootl035: Hardicanute 1040— 
The Saxon dynasty restored: Edward the Confessor 1042 : 
Harold 1066 16 

Political and Religious Institutions of the Saxons 28 

The Norman Period. 

William I. (1066). Submission of the Saxon authorities — Com- 
pletion of the Conquest — Results of the Norman Conquest 
— Wars in France S3 

William II. (1087). Disputes with his brother Robert — In- 
vasions by the Scotch and Welsh— Rapacity of the king $* 



Vi ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Pagi 
Hkney I. (1100). "Robert despoiled of his kingdom and duchy — 
Prince "William drowned — Settlement of the investiture 

dispute 41 

Stephen (1135V Usurpation of the throne — Scotch invade 
England— Civil "War — The contest renewed by prince 
Henry.,.. 44 

Social Life in the Norman Period.. 47 



The Plantagenet Period. 

Henry II. (1154). Henry's extensive dominions — Constitutions 
of Clarendon — Assassination of Becket — Conquest of Ire- 
land — Rebellion of Henry's sons 4'd 

Richard I. (1189). Preparations for the Crusade — Richard's 
Crusading expedition — England during Richard's absence 
— War with France 54 

John (1199). Loss of the French provinces — John's quarrel 
with pope Innocent — War with France — Magna Charta 
obtained — War with the Barons 57 

Henry III. (1216). Regency of Pembroke and De Burgh — 
Disputes with Scotland, Wales, and France — Henry's un- 
satisfactory government — Barons' war: the first House of 
Commons — Reaction in favour of. Henry 62 

Edward I. (1272). Reduction of Wales — Wars with Scotland 

— War with France 67 

Edward II. (1307). First insurrection of the barons — War 
with Scotland — Second insurrection of the barons — Ed- 
ward deposed and murdered 71 

Edward III. (1327). Minority of the King— War with Scot- 
land—Edward attempts to conquer France — Loss of the 
English possessions in France 7^ 

Richard 11.(1377). Popular insurrection — Misgovernment — 

Deposition o€ Richard 78 

Social Life iu the Plantagenet Period •. „., 82 

The Lancastrian Period. 

tlBXRY IV. (1399). War with Scotland — Rebellion of Owen 
Glendower — War with France — Persecution of the Lol- 
lards •*• S-i 

Henry V. (1413). Persecution of the Lollards — War witD 

France 67 

HurKT VI. (1422). Loss of France— Cade's insurrection — 

^Vars of the Roses .., 89 



ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS. VlS 

The Yorkist Period. 

Paai 

Edward IV. (1461). Civil war continued — Deposition and 

restoration of Edward 92 

Edward V. and Richard III. (M83). Deposition of Edward 

— The troubled reign of Richard 94 

Social life in the Lancastrian and Yorkist Period 90 

The Tudor Period. 

'.Ienry VII. (1485). Henry's title to the crown — Lambert 
Simnel's insurrection— War with France — Perkin War- 
beck's insurrection 98 

Henry VIII. (1509). First war with France and Scotland — 
Cardinal Wolsey — Second war with France and Scotland 
— Henry divorces Catherine — Reformation in England — 
Third war with Scotland and France 102 

Edward VI. (1547). War with Scotland — Progress of the Re- 
formation — Popular insurrections — Fall of the Protector 
Somerset 109 

Mary (1553). The usurpation of Lady Jane Grey — Restora- 
tion of Romanism — Wyatt's insurrection — The Marian 
Persecution — War with France 113 

Elizabeth (1558). Difficulties at the accession — Completion of 
the Reformation — Mary of Scots — Many Catholic plots in 
favour of Mary — The Spanish Armada — Irish Rebellion 116 

Social Life in the Tudor Period 124 

The Stuart Period. 

James I. (1603). Main and Bye plots — Hampton Court con- 
ference — Gunpowder plot — Growing power of the Com- 
mons — The King's favourites — Founding of Colonies ... 127 

Charles I. (1625). Contentions with his first Parliaments — 
War with Spain and France— Charles rules absolutely — 
The Scotch Covenant — Meeting of the Long Parliament — 
The Irish Rebellion — Rupture between Charles and his 
parliament — The Civil War — Trial and execution of the 
King 138 

Commonwealth (1649). Republicanism established — Reduc- 
tion of Ireland and Scotland — First Dutch war— Protec- 
torate of Oliver and Richard Cromwell — Anarchy and 
Restoration 145 

(•2ARLE8 II. (1660). Settlement of the nation — Second Dutch 
war — The plague and fire — Triple alliance and treaty or* 
&q**& — Third Dutch war — Popish clots— Political plots 151 



Vlll ANALITILAL TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Paqt 

James II. (1685). Insurrections of Argyle and Monmoutn — 
Attempt to establish Romanism — The Revolution of 1688 
— The Interregnum 160 

William III. (1689). Completion of the Revolution — Reduc- 
tion of Ireland — Affairs of Scotland : the Darien Scheme 
— Opposition to William's government — Warwith France 
— Second act of settlement 165 

Anne (1702). Union of Scotland — The strife of political parties 

— War of the Spanish succession .... 172 

Social life in the Stuart Period ......w........ 178 

The Hanoverian Period. 

George I. (1714). General discontent — Rebellion in favour of 
the Old Pretender — The South Sea Bub We — Foreign 
affairs: War with Spain 183 

George II. (1727). Walpole's administration — War with Spain 
— War of the Austrian succession — Rebellion in favour 
of the Young Pretender — Seven Years' War — Affairs in 
India 18c 

George III. (1760). End of the Seven Years' War— Affair of 
John Wilkes — American war of independence — Gordon 
Riots — The French Revolution — The war of the French 
Revolution —Irish Rebellion : Union with England — Re- 
newal of the war with France — The Peninsular war — 
Indian affairs 19( 

George IV. (1820). Distress of the nation — Concessions to the 

Dissenters — Foreign affairs IV. 

William IV. (1830). The Reform Bill— Measures of the Re- 
formed parliament — Foreign affairs 22' 

Victoria (1837). Disturbances by the Chartists and others — 
O'Connell and the repeal of the Union— Removal of trade 
restrictions — Rebellion in Canada — War in Syria — Indian 
affairs— Russian War — Rebellion in India 22 

Social life in the Hanoverian Period 23 

The British Constitution ~ 23 

Chronology « 22 

Examination Qvesxion* -. 2 C . 






THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 



Che Ancient Britons were of the Celtic race, but when they 
\t came into this island no one knows, though some writers 
ert that Britain was peopled about 1055 B.C., and that the 
and was then full of bears, wolves, beavers, and a peculiai 
id of wild cattle. It is, however, certain that the island was 
labited several centuries before the Christian era, and that the 
loenicians traded here for tin. Our information of a more 
finite character commences only about half a century before 
3 birth of Christ, and is derived mostly from the writings of 
lius Csesar, a Roman general. That we have no previous 
story is not a great loss, for the Britons existed only as small 
bes, and in a state of enmity one with another. It will, never - 
eless, afford some interest to know what was the condition 
the inhabitants of this island when they first came under the 
«ervation of men of a superior civilization. J/^ 

I. Civil Institutions of the Britons. 

At the time of Caesar's invasion, there existed more than forty dis- 

inct tribes, each under the authority of one or more chiefs, who in 

| ime of war commanded the armed men of the tribe, but in peace 

vere themselves mostly under the control of the priests. The mass 

I »f the people existed in a condition of serfdom, grievouslv oppressed 

l>y the two privileged classes — the druids and the knights. Of the 

\ribes, the principal were the Kegni, which included the modern 

Dun ties of Surrey and Sussex ; Cantii, Kent; Trinobantes, Essex and 

liddlesex; Cassii, Herts, Bedford, and Bucks; Iceni, Suffolk, Nor- 

)lk, Cambridge, and Huntingdon ; Silures, South Wales ; and the 

3rigantes, north of the Humber, To the north of the latter were 

he Maetae, and beyo&d them the Caledonians, a people noted for 

heir ferocity. ^ 

II. Religious Institutions of the Britons. 

Tbe religion -c£ the Britons was that of Druidism, and its worship 
jomlucted in graves of oak, that tree, on account of its strength an<t , 
iurability, bemg considered the most appropriate emblem of the. v 
Divinity. " The tree and its productions were deemed holy ; to its, 
trunk was bound the victim destined for slaughter; and of its leaves * . 
were formed the chaplets worn at the time of sacrifice. If it chanced. ^ 
to produce the mistletoe, the whole tribe wag summoned; two white • * 
heifers were immolated under its branches; the principal Druid cut'* 
the s&ered plant with a knife of gold : and a religious feast terminated' ^ 



Z OUTLINES OF E-lstfLISH falb'lcL*. 

the ceremonies of the day," So famous was Britain for its druidical 
knowledge, that at the time of Caesar's invasion, youths were sent over 
from Gaul to perfect their instruction. V This system had two sets of 
doctrines, one for the initiated, the other adapted tor the superstition 
of the people. The truths held by the priests are said to have in- 
cluded the doctrine of one God, the creation, the fall of angels and 
men, the final destruction of the world by fire, and the immortality of 
the soul. The common people were taught to believe in a plurality 
of deities, and the transmigration of souls. None of these principle* 
were committed to writing, but only lodged in the memory of the 
priests, a task which is said to have occupied twenty years. 

At the head of the druids, or priests, was the archdruid, elected by 
a majority of votes. The others were divided into three classes : — 
the druid proper, who presided over all religious matters, instructed 
the young, and judged all public and private causes: the bards, who 
devoted themselves to historical and genealogical poetry, accompany 
ing their recitations with the harp; and the vates, who were the 
sacred musicians and poets, and pretended to foretell events. The 
priests derived their support from holdings of land, cattle and other 
spoil taken in battle, gilts for prophecies, and fees for administering 
justice, practising physic, and instructing youth in science and reli- 
gion. To secure the payment of arrears, all fires were extinguished 
on the 1st of November, and re-lighted from the altar on payment of 
all dues ; any one giving fire to his neighbour was excommunicated. 

Druidism included the following religious acts: — songs of praise,* 
prayer, offerings an-i sacrifices, and the various rites of augury and 
divination. The prayers were made by the priest with his hand on 
the head of the victim; the sacrifices were generally offered only in 
part, the remainder being divided between the priest and the offerer.. 
On special occasions human victims were offered, though mostly 
criminals or captives taken in war. Divination was practised by the 
flight of birds, entrails of animals, or blood flowing from a man cut in', 
two. Every day at noon, the sun was worshipped ; at midnight the 
moon, the first day of which was & festival. On the 10th of March, , 
the mistletoe was cut, and two white bulls offered, and on the 1st of ■ 
May was held the annual festival in honour ot the sun, when great fires " 
were kindled and sacrifices made. Midsummer day and the 1st of * 
November were also festivals, one to implore a good harvest, the other • 
to return thanks for it. As it was thought unlawful to worship , 
under roofs, all acts of worship were performed in the open air. For ' 
instruction and certain rites, the druids chose the darkest recesses of ' 
groves of oak. 

III. Social Institutions of the Britons. 

At the time of the Koman invasion, there were found considerable 
differences between the condition of the Britons in different parts of 
the island. Civilisation wls highest in the south and gradually fell . 
off towards the north. This was accounted tor, by supposing that - 
from time to time new tribes had poured over from the Continent t 
bringing with them various improvements not known in Britain, 
before; and that moreover these last colonists pushed backwards, 
their predecessors, and seated themselves in their place. At the time . 
v/e speak o£ the Briton* m the tuuth fed on com, and lived in circular. 






THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN. 



houses of wood, resting on a stone foundation , the roof was r 
conical in shape and pierced in the centre for the double purpose ci . 
admitting light and discharging the smoke. They wore a dress of • 
their own manufacture, consisting of a waistcoat and trousers, over • 
Vfhich was worn a square mantle. In the central parts the inhabi- 
tants did not cultivate the earth, but lived on the milk and flesh of * 
their flocks, and clothed themselves, with skins. Their dwellings were ■ 
booths or rude huts constructed ofnarattling. In the north, the people ■ 
depended for support mainly on the produce of the chase. They » 
went almost naked, or as soaielgjyr, entirely so, and for shelter sought, 
the cover of the woods and the caVerns of the mountains. QL-li£fc. 
within doors we know very little, excepi. that more than one family, 
lived under the same roof. 

IV. Employment of the Britons. 

Of the inhabitants of the centra} and northern parts of the island, 

'it need only be said that they followed the simple callings of pasturage 

! and hunting. In the south their employments included agriculture, 

mining and smelting of metals, and the manufacture of textiles. 

How far they engaged in commerce is uncertain, they had vessels, 

1 though probably only of small burthen. There is no doubt however 

about a trade with Britain having been carried on by foreigners, 

principally for tin, taking in exchange brass, salt, earthenware, glass, 

and ornaments. It is generally believed now, that the people in South 

, : Britain were much further advanced as craftsmen than C&sar gave 

| them credit for, for it was evident that they understood enough of 

' working in metals to enable them to fabricate arms and tools of 

various kinds, and it is also undeniable that they constructed numbers 

of war-chariots, which from the rapidity of their movements, xuu&t 

have been carefully and skilfully put together. 

THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN. 

I. Csesar's Two Invasions. 55-54 B.C. 

Julius Caesar, a Roman general of great eminence, had just, 
' been engaged in subduing the pauls, and as the Britons had 
; rendered them assistance, it was a sufficient excuse for so am- 
I bitious a man to] attempt the redaction of Britain. Taking 
i witu him about 12,000 men, Ccasjar crossed the English Channel 
to the neighbourhood of Dover, :>ut as the heights were covered 
, with armed men, he turned asido and sought a flat coast wher 
I he could make a landing/TTr is he found in the level stranc 
J where the town of toeal now stinds ; some antiquarians.^ how- 
ever, think the landing was ma de to the westward of Dover, 
the/ discipline of the Romans pre- 
made thflir submission and sent in host- 
e Roman transports on shore, 
the natives, and one of the legions met 
j with severe puriishmtojt ; a/kind of submission having Dee]a 



Img 

Opposition was offered, but 
i vailed, and the chiei. 
] ages. A storm, which drove 
I gave fresh courage 



fi OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

made a second time, the perplexed general sailed tor Gaul 
Having been absent less than a month. • // 

In the next year Caesar landed ut the^ame place with much 
greater forces. The natives retired, and uniting themselves 
under Cassivelaunus, chief of the Cassii, anno} T ed the Romans 
by attacking them at different points. After a time the British 
confederacy broke up, and the invader, without much difficulty, 
crossed the Thames, and had the honor of capturing the rude 
fortress of the Cassii, somewhere near where St. Alban's now 
stands. The Trinobantes had already submitted, and wheL 
Cassivelaunus made his submission, the great Roman general 
embarked his army, having taken nothing by his campaign but 
a few hostages and a promise of tribute. 

II. Subjugation of Britain by the Romans. A.D. 43-84. 

Caesar, after retiring from Britain, found employment in com- 
pleting the conquest of Gaul, and then in the struggles going on 
in Italy. Indeed, for 97 years the Romans, either from the un- 
settled sUie of their own affairs or from the indisposition of the 
emperors, made no further movement against this island. An 
appeal, so it is said, of Beric, an expelled British chief, induced 
Claudius to send (43) Aulus Plautius to Britain. Under him 
served Vespasian and his son Titus, " destined to be the instru- 
ments of God's vengeance against the stubborn people of 
Israel." The Britons were found no easy conquest, though 
Claudius came in person to receive the submission of some of 
the tribes, for when Plautius was recalled in 50, he had done 
little more than reduce the district south of the Thames. 

Ostorius Scapula, a man of good ability, succeeded to the 
command, and after driving back the Britons, protected the dis- 
trict already won by drawing a line of forts from the Nen to the 
Severn. Having made Camalodunum (Colchester?) a colony, 
he crossed to the west, to give battle to the Silures, commanded 
by Caractacus. Victory attended the Romans, and the brave 
chief,throughtreachery,becameaprisonerandwassentto Rome. 
On his arrival there he expressed surprise that a people with 
such palaces should fight for the hovels of Britain; Claudius 
generously gave him his liberty. 

Aulus Didius next commanded (53 — 57) ; he did nothing but 
settle the quarrels of the Brigantes. Veranius, wto succeeded 
him, was not more fortunate. Suetonius Paulinus, the next 
governor (58 — 62), was one of the most distinguished of the im- 
perial generals. His first effort was to destroy the Druids, 
whose influence it was thought kept up the opposition of the 
natives. The priests had retired to A nglesea, to which island the 



THE B0MAN8 IN BRITAIN. 

Romans made their approach. A hostile army lined the shores , 
amongst the troops were women with streaming hair, bearing 
torches, running up and down like furies. The Romans crossed 
the Strait, defeated the enemy, burnt the Druids in their own 
fires, and cut down their sacred groves. Meanwhile the Iceni 
had broken out in revolt, for Boadicea, the queen, and her 
daughters had been grossly outraged ; being joined by the 
Trinobantes, Camalodunum, London, and Verulamium were 
destroyed, as was also one of the legions. It is said that in 
these cities 70,000 persons were slaughtered. Paulinus, having 
gathered up his forces, took post in a situation with natural 
defences. The Britons rushed upon the enemy with tumul- 
tuous cries, but were beaten back and routed with such terrible 
slaughter that 80,000 were slain. Boadicea ended her mis- 
fortunes by poisoning herself. The governors who next suc- 
ceeded pursued a conciliatory policy. Petilius recommenced 
aggression, and from 70 to 75 was engaged in reducing the 
Brigantes ; his successor, Frontinus (75 — 78), had the honour 
of subjugating the Silures. 

It was reserved for Julius Agricola (78 — 84), a man equally 
eminent for his abilities as a soldier and statesman, to complete 
a conquest which, by its slow progress, had brought some dis- 
credit on the Roman arms. First subduing the tribes of North 
Wales, he pushed on step by step till in 81 he bridled the north 
of Scotland by a chain of forts from the Forth to the Clyde. 
Proposing in 84 to cross the Grampians, he was met by a 
native army of 30,000 men under Galgacus, a Caledonian chief; 
a bloody battle followed, in which the Romans slew 10,000 of 
the enemy. This was the last stand made by the Britons. 

III. Improvements consequent on the Roman Conquest- 

Agricola, to tame the inhabitants, adopted the policy of draw- 
ing them into towns, and assisting them to build temples, houses, 
and places of public resort. He caused the sons of the chief 
men to be carefully instructed in science and literature, and 
created a taste for the Roman dress and dissolute amusements. 
I All this innovation was by the inexperienced styled polite- 
ness and humanity, when it was indeed part of their bond- 
age ;" so writes a Roman historian. Each successive governor 
carried on the improvements commenced by Agricola. Next to 
the splendid cities that sprung up in well-chosen localities* 
were the unequalled roads which the Romans constructec 
to unite the principal points in the several provinces. Such 
irerethe Waiting Street, leading from Kent, by way of London 
py\d St. Albans, to Carnarvon : the Ikenild Street from 






D OUTLINES Of ENGLISH HISTORY. 

iit. David's, by way of Birmingham and York, to Tynemuuth : 
the Ei~min Street from Southampton to St. David's: and the 
Foss Way from Cornwall to Lincoln, perhaps to Caithness. 
In the neighbourhood of these roads their cities were planted. 
The open country of the best districts became dotted with 
splendid mansions having all the appliances of Roman civiliza- 
tion. Agriculture partook of the- general improvement, and 
before the Romans abandoned the island it had become a large 
corn -growing country, able to export in immense quantities. 

Indirectly the Romans introduced the inestimable boon 01 
Christianity ; the exact manner is unknown, though opinion 
inclines most to its being the work of Christian soldiers serving 
in the legions. The general belief is that it found its way here 
before the conquest was completed ; but little light, however, 
rests upon the subject till we arrive at the fourth century. 
In the tenth or Diocletian persecution (303-5) suffered St. 
Alban, a native serving in. the Roman army ; confessing himself 
a Christian, he was first put to the torture, and then beheaded 
near Verulamium. On the spct where he suffered, Offa cf 
Mercia afterwards erected the nuble abbey of St, Alban's. 

IV, Roman Government in Britain. 

At first Britain was a separate province of the empire and 
governed by a propraetor, who was the supreme civil governor 
and commander of the army. Subordinate to the prefect, but 
responsible only to the emperor, was the procurator, or quaestor, 
who collected the revenue, derived from a poll-tax, a tax on 
funerals and legacies and on the sale of goods, a tenth of the 
produce of the mines, and a certain proportion of corn, hay, and 
cattle. In the time of Constantino (306 — 337) we find Britain 
divided into five provinces : — Britannia Prima, the district south 
of the Thames ; Britannia Secunda, answering to the modern 
principality of Wales ; Flavia Ccesariensis, the district betweeu 
the Thames and Humber ; Maxima Ccesariensis } from the 
Hurnber to the wall of Severus ; and Valentia, from the wall of 
Severus to the Forth and Clyde. Over the first three were 
praesides, or presidents ; over the two latter oonsu'.ares, or men 
of consular rank. One supreme civil officer, under the title of 
Vicarius, regulated the entire administration, and was himself 
subordinate to the Prefect of Gaul. All military aff'-ur.-? were 
under the direction of three chief officers : — the Count of the 
Saxon Shore, who had charge of the coasts from the Humber to 
Cornwall ; the Duke of Britain, who commanded north of tnb 
Humber ; and the Count of Britain, to whom were subject the 
remain :3£ parts of the island. 



THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN. 1 

In the towns, there was to a certain extent an independent 
jurisdiction. Of the 92 cities which grew up in Britain, the 
names of 33 have been preserved. Because of their various pri- 
vileges, they were ranked in four classes : Municipia (2), 
Verulam and York ; the inhabitants of which enjoyed all the 
rights of Roman citizenship, of choosing their own magistrates, 
and enacting their own laws : Colonice (9), Richborough, London, 
Colchester, Bath, Gloucester, Caerleon, Chester, Lincoln, and 
Cambridge ; these colonies were settlements of Roman veterans, 
to whom was granted a part of the conquered lands ; each colony 
adopted the same customs as the parent city, and was governed 
by the same laws: Jus Latii (10), or cities possessing the Latian 
right. Castor, Catterick, Slack in Longwood, Ribchester, Carlisle, 
Cirencester, Old Sarum, Dunbarton, Perth, and Inverness ; thes6 
cities had the choice of their own magistrates, who having served 
one year, could claim thefreedom of Rome; and the Stipendiaries 
(12J, Caer-Gwent, Winchester, Caistor, (near Norwich), Caer- 
Segont (near Carnarvon). Carmarthen, Leicester, Canterbury, 
Dorchester, Exeter, Riechester, Vindonum (in Hants), and 
Rochester. These distinctions were gradually abolished, and all 
the towns enjoyed the civitas, or rights of Roman citizenship. 

V. Invasions of Roman Britain. 

The extreme north of the island, having never been reduced, 
sent out swarms of men who made continual inroads into the 
Roman provinces, and brought over the emperors themselves on 
several occasions to give them battle. The first wall, or line of 
forts, erected by Agricola, was soon broken through, and much 
booty carried off. Hadrian, the emperor, after driving the bar- 
barians back, ordered the erection of a second wall (121) from 
the Solway to the Tyne, consisting of an earthen vallum and 
deep ditch ; along its length (60 miles) were many forts and 
watch-towers. On a revolt of the Maetas and Brigantes, the 
propraetor Lollius Urbicus, after their subjugation, drove back the 
Caledonians to their mountains, and raised a third wall (139) on 
the site of Agricola's line ; from the reigning emperor, this was 
called the Wall of Antoninus. Fresh inroads brought over the 
emperor Severus, who carried his legions to the extreme north of 
Britain, and on his return raised & fourth wall (211), or more pro- 
perly strengthened the existing wall of Hadrian. After this, the 
Picts and Scots, the former denoting the Maetae, and the latter a 
people from Ireland, who had established a supremacy over the 
Caledonians, gave more trouble than before, for the love of plun 
der inflamed their courage, and brought them even as far south 
as London, from which they were driven by Theodosius (368>. 



8 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH H18TOBY. 

But so long as the Roman dominion Continued, so long did tl 
northern barbarians continue to infest south Britain. 

Roman Britain had other enemies, who came by sea — tr 
Saxons, which name included the tribes on the coast, from tr. 
mouth of the Rhine to the Baltic. It is not known how earl 
they began their ravages, it is however certain that they wei 
serious, by the erection of a line of forts along the eastern coas 
of Britain, and the appointment of a great military officer calk 
the Count of the Saxon Shore. A powerful fleet was placed : 
the adjoining seas, and Carausius put in command. For makir 
a gain of his office, Maximian, the emperor, ordered him to I 
put to death : thereupon the admiral sailed for Britain, and 6 
up for one of the emperors. His reign (287 — 294) ended in h 
being assassinated by his minister, who succeeded to the place » 
his master. Constantius now came to reside in Britain (299- 
306) ; on his death at York, he was succeeded by his son Co: 
stantine, who at the end of six years was called away to ent 
upon the contest, which ended in his becoming the sole emperc 

VI. The Romans abandon Britain— 409. 

The Roman empire had been for some time in a state of d 
cay, partly from internal corruption, and partly from the growii 
power of the barbarians. Under the celebrated Alaric, tl 
Goths Vandals, and Alans poured down into Italy, and tl 
Roman legions were called away to defend the very heart of tl 
empire. Rome nevertheless fell in 409, and in the year f ollowin 
Honorius the emperor, by letter, instructed the states of Brita 
to provide for their own safety. When the Romans left th 
island, it was very different from its condition when they cam 
Forests had been thinned, lanas drained, rivers embanked, ai 
noble roadways constructed ; many cities anci towns had grow 
up full of splendid edifices, and the best parts of the count] 
were studded with noble mansions. But the advantage wi 
to the Roman rather than the Briton ; the country was mac 
to serve the avarice of the ruler, but derived little benel 
itself from the rule. ' * I think," writes Kemble, "we cann< 
entertain the least doubt that the condition of the British abor 
gines was from the first one of oppression, and was to the vei 
last a mere downward progress from misery to misery. Bi 
such a system as this — ruinous to the conquered, and benefici; 
even to the conquerors only as long as they couid maintain t 
law of force — had no inherent vitality. It rested upon a criir 
— a sin which in no time or region has the providence of tl 
Almighty blessed — the degradation of one class on pretext ( 
benefiting another. And as the sin, so also was th* retribution 



THE SAXON CONQDE8T. 



THE SAXON CONQUEST. 449-600. 

1. Britain after its desertion by the Romans. 

After the Romans had left this island, the several municipalities 
became so many separate commonwealths under provincial 
governors, till the inroads of the Picts and Scots led to con- 
federations headed, as is said, some by British, others by Roman 
chiefs. Party strife followed, from which they suffered more 
than from foreign enemies. Pelagiup,, a native of Wales, pro- 
mulgating his notions with respect to original sin and man T s 
perfectibility, introduced further discord. It was under this 
combination of untoward circumstances th at Vortigern, the most 
powerful of the British chiefs, did what the emperors had often 
done — employ mercenaries to aid him in fighting his battles. It 
may be observed here that the materials for this part of our 
history are not of the most reliable kind, and that the stories of 
Vortigern, Hengist, Horsa,and others whofigure so prominently, 
are by our best historians taken to be mere traditions. 

II. Formation of the Saxon Kingdoms. 

When the Saxons are spoken of, it is necessary to bear in mind 
that the name appears to have denoted a confederacy of tribes, 
Thus the expeditions that came successively to this island, with 
the purpose of reducing it, are all called Saxons, though there 
were at least three tribes included in that name — Jutes, Angles, 
and Saxons. As they all came from nearly the same district, 
bordering on the north of the Elbe, it is not probable that there 
were any strongly marked differences between one tribe and 
the other. 

1. Kent founded by Hengist, 455. Whether by accident 
or design the chroniclers are not agreed, but at the very time 
that Vortigern, king of Kent, was in council with the othei 
chiefs to devise means against the common enemy, Hengist anc* 
Horsa appeared oft' the coast in three ships, containing 300 men. 
They were at once engaged to act against the Picts, and in a 
short time the land was cleared of these troub'esome barbarians. 
More Jutes came over, and brought with them the blue-eyed 
Rowena, daughter of Hengist; she won the affections of the 
British king and became his wife. After a time, the Saxons, by 
their numbers, became burdensome to their employers; a quarrel 
ensued, they declared that they would not give up the Isle of 
Thanet, and that if supplies were withheld they would plunder 
to them. Battles ensued, in ODe of which Horsft was slain ; 

B 



fv outlines of English history. 

Hengist then left the island for a time. Returning, he claimed 
the kingdom of Vortigern, his son-in-law; for Vortimer,theson 
of Vortigern, who had usurped the throne of Kent, was now 
dead. Hengist gained his point, by treachery it is said, and 
dying in 488 left his kingdom to Esc, his son. 

2. Sussex founded by Ella, 477. Ella with his three 
sons came over in three ships, and landing at Cymensore, in the 
Isle of Selsea, defeated the Britons and drove them into the 
Forest of Andreade, at that time covering nearly 4,000 square 
miles. It was not till 491 that the Saxons, strengthened by 
fresh arrivals, undertook to capture Andredes-Cester, the pric* 
cipal city. After much difficulty the place was taken, and 
every soul put to the sword. 

3. Wessex founded by Cerdic, 495. This expedition 
landed at Cerdic-shore (in the Isle of Wight), but for five years 
met with little success. Being reinforced by Porta, who brought 
two ships into Portsmouth, the Saxons fought many battles 
with Natanleod, king of the district, but it was not till he was 
slain several years after, that Cerdic made good his position. 
He then united his son Cynric with him in the government. 
Wessex did not attain its full dimensions till the reign of Ceaw- 
lin, the son of Cynric. 

4. Essex founded by Erke^wine, 527. While these 
struggles were going on in the west, a new Saxon kingdom was 
founded by Erkenwine, though under what circumstances there 
is no record. It gradually stretched itself westward, and gave 
origin to another small state known as Middlesex, which con- 
tained in it the city of London. These petty kingdoms rarely 
enjoyed any political independence, being mostly tributary to 
the adjoining kings. 

5. Bernicia founded by Ida, 547. The Angles, though 
the last of the three tribes to come over, appeared in larger 
bodies than the others had done. It is, indeed, stated that they 
emigrated in such numbers as to leave scarcely any behind in 
the parts whence they came. Ida and his twelve sons headed 
the expedition which landed at Flamborough Head ; after many 
battles this chief subdued the Britons, and fixed his residence 
at Bamborough. This kingdom reached ultimately from the 
Forth to the Tyne, and retained its British name Bryneich 
Latinised into Bernicia. 

6. Deira founded by Ella, 560. Ella, one of the allien 
shieftains who had fought under Ida, fell off when Ida died, and 
svith several followers set out to win a kingdom for themselves, 
w biob they did by reducing the district south of the Tees. Th is 
formed the kingdom of Deira, eo oalled from its British name, 



THE SAXON CONQUEST. 11 

Deytyr ; it extended from the Tees to the Humber. Many year9 
ot rivalry were put an end to in 617, when Deira and Bernicia 
were united into one kingdom, under the name of Northumbrian 
by Edwin, the son of Ella. 

7. East Anglia founded by Uffa, 571. So early as th8 
jommeneement of the century, notice is taken of the Angles 
appearing in what are now the eastern counties. At a latei 
date they poured over in large numbers, divided into two tribes 
— the North-folk and the South-folk. Further than this 
nothing is known. 

8. Mercia founded by Cridda, 586. Creoda, or Cridda, 
was the leader of a band of Angles, who left Deira with the pur- 
pose of winning a new settlement. Of its formation we only 
know that it was by slow degrees that the adventurers won 
their way into the heart of Britain, and that it was Penda, the 
grandson of Cridda, who first separated it from the dominion of 
the Northern Angles. In this district a larger number of 
Britons was permitted to remain than in the other kingdoms; 
they ultimately formed an integral part of the Mercian people. 

III. What became of the Ancient Britons P 
Many writers agree that so long as it was a struggle of life 
and death, the Saxons carried on a war of extermination, but 
that as the necessity was less felt, the natives were spared to 
labour en the soil. On the other side it is maintained that if 
any considerable number nad been spared, evidence of it would 
appear in our language. Part of the Britons retained possession 
of Strathclyde and Cumbria, extending from Dunbarton to the 
southern borders of Lancashire, andseparated from the Northum- 
brians by the British Apennines. Another mass continued in 
possession of Damnonia, or Devon, with its dependency, Corn- 
wall, which counties the Saxons called West Wales. Many 
subsequently fled beyond sea to Armorica. The noblest, however, 
maintained themselves in Cambria, or Wales, and though their 
country was more than once overrun by the Anglo-Saxons and 
Mercians, they held their independence for many centuries. 

A recent writer (Creasy) supposes that all the men of the con- 
quered districts were exterminated or expelled, but that the 
women became the wives of the conquerors. " This hypothesis 
also accounts for the difference which undoubtedly exists between 
ourselves and the modern Germans, both in physical and mental 
characteristics. The English preserves the independence of 
mind, the probity, the steadiness, the domestic virtues, and the 
love of order which marked our German forefathers; while from 
Uie Celtic element of our nation we derive a greater degree of 



12 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY 

energy and enterprise, of versatility, and practical readiness 
than are to be found in the modern populations of purely 
Teutonic origin." 

THE SAXON HEPTARCHY. 

The term Heptarchy is a misnomer, but having been long in 
use to designate this part of Anglo-Saxon history, it is not easy 
to displace it. Some have employed the term Octarchy, though 
this term is not more correct than the other, for there were not 
eight kingdoms for any lengthened period, any more than there 
were seven. Originally there were nine kingdoms founded ; — 
Kent by the Jutes ; Sussex, Wessex, Essex, and Middlesex by 
the Saxons ; and Bernicia, Deira, East Anglia, and Mercia by 
the Angles. But Essex and Middlesex mostly followed the for- 
tunes of Kent, and Bernicia and Deira became one under the 
name of Northumbria (617). And if the history of the several 
ecates be tracked down, the number of independent kingdoms 
will be found continually varying, till at the close of the seventh 
century they are reduced to three. 

I. The Saxon Bretwaldas. 

For a period of 200 years after the completion of the Saxon 
conquest, the history of this country presents little worthy of 
record. But some few sovereigns during that period have 
obtained notoriety by being styled Bretwaldas, though what the 
precise meaning of that term may be has not yet been settled. 
One says it means the ruler or emperor of Britain, holding the 
other kings in some kind of inferiority ; another, that it means 
simply a war-king. Other interpretations are equally difficult 
of application. 

1. Ella of Sussex. 491 — 510. When this dignity was 
conferred on or assumed by Ella, it is difficult to conceive, for 
Sussex was the least considerable of the Saxon states, and Ella 
has scarcely obtained the notice of our ancient chroniclers. 
This kingdom was reduced by Ceawlin. and annexed to Wessex. 

2. Ceawlin of Wessex. 560—593. The first battle that 
occurred between the Anglo-Saxon sovereigns was occasioned 
by the ambition of Ethelbert of Kent, who led uis forces 
against Ceawlin, and met with severe defeat. After this 
success the West Saxon king added Sussex to his dominions, 
and won large accessions of territory from the Britons of the 
west. A civil war drove him from his kingdom, and gave his 
Uuo;ie to Ceolric, his nephew. 



THE SAXON HEPTARCHY. ] 3 

3. Ethelbert of Kent. 560—616. This reTCTi to distin- 
guished for its ill-fated expedition against Wessex, and the 
introduction of Christianity, which will be treated of sepa- 
rately. 

4. Redwald of East Anglia. 599—620. Of this king it 
is recorded that being persuaded by Ethelbert to adopt the 
Christian religion, and meeting with opposition from his wife and 
people, he resolved the difficulty by setting up in the same 
temple, sicle by side, the statue of Woden and an altar to the God 
*f the Christians. Redwald is also celebrated for the generous 
assistance he afforded to Edwin, the son of Ella, whom he had 
the pleasure of placing on the throne of Northumbria. 

5. Edwin of Northumbria. 617 — 633. Edwin when he 
married Edelburga, daughter of Ethelbert of Kent, allowed her 
the free exercise of her religion, though himself a pagan. Pau- 
linus, the priest who accompanied the princess, attempted the 
conversion of the king, but without success till Edwin, escaping 
the hands of an assassin, and winning a battle against Cwichelm 
of Wessex, consented to adopt the new faith, supposing it met 
the approval of his council. In this assembly, Coin* the chief 
priest advocated change, on the ground that the existing religion 
had not proved very profitable to himself. He was supported by 
one of the thanes, who argued that their religion taught them 
nothing of futurity, which Christianity prof essedto do. It being 
decided to abandon heathenism, Coifi was the first to attack the 
heathen temple at Godmundham. Edwin and his thanes were 
baptised (627), and York fixed upon as the residence of the 
metropolitan of the north. Six years afterwards, Edwin fell at 
Hatfield Chase in battle against Penda of Mercia and Cad- 
walladar, a British chief. 

6. Oswald of Northumbria. 634 — 642. Oswald the son 
of Ethelfrith,whom Redwald slew on the banks of the Idel (617), 
now became king ; giving battle to Cadwalladar, that chief was 
slain and his army annihilated. After restoring the Christian 
religion, from which the Northumbrians had apostatised, befell 
by the hand of Penda, who swept the country as far as J3am- 
borough. 

7. Oswy of Northumbria. 642 — 670. Oswy was the 
brother of Oswald and son-in-law of Edwin. Penda again 
ravaged Northumbria, but peace followed for a time on the 
marriage of that king's son Peada with Alchfleda, the daughtei 
of Oswy ; this marriage led to the introduction of Christianity 
into Mercia. But Penda was soon again in the field, first against 
East Anglia andthen Northumbria. This time fortune favoured 
the latter, for Penda and twenty -eight allied chiefs fell in the 



14 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

battle of Winwidfield, near Leeds (655). Religious disputes 
occupied the latter part of this reign; the king at length decided 
in favour of the institutions of St. Peter, thereby discarding those 
of St. Columba, which had prevailed in North uinbria, in conse- 
quence of the conversion of that country having been principally 
effected by monks from Scotland. 

At the death of Oswy there remained but three independent 
kingdoms in Saxon England — Wessex,Mercia, and North umbria. 
Kings continued to rule in the other states, though oniy ad 
vassals of their more powerful neighbours. 

II. Introduction of Christianity— 597. 

Before Gregory the Great had reached the papal chair he saw, 
in the slave market at Rome, some children with ruddy cheeks, 
blue eyes, and long hair, the latter at that time a mark of noble 
birth. U4 To what nation do these poor boys belong? ' was the 
question put by Gregory to the dealer. ' They are Angles, 
Father.' * Well may they be so called, for they are as comely as 
angels ; and would that, like angels, they might become che- 
rubim in heaven ! But from which of the many provinces in 
Britain dc tiny come?' 'From Deira, Father.' 'Indeed,' con- 
tinued Gregoi j, speaking in Latin, L De ird Dei liberandi sunt? — 
From the wrath of God they are to be delivered. And when, on 
asking the name of their king, he was told it was Ella, or Alia, 
he added that Allelujah — praise ye the Lord— ought to be sung 
in his dominions." When this worthy father of the church 
became pope, he despatched Augustine with 40 associates to con- 
vert the pagans in Britain . The cause of these missionary priests 
was served by the fact that Ethelbert's wife, Bertha, daughter of 
Charibert, king of Paris, was a Christian. The king of Ken' 
refused for a while to abandon the rites of heathenism, though 
"he gave permission to his people to do so. In no long time the 
king and 10,000 of his subjects were baptised ; and Augustine, 
on becoming bishop of Canterbury, conferred the episcopal 
dignity on Justus, who became bishop of Rochester, and on 
Mellitus, who took charge of the see of London. 

As Gregory had subjected all the bishops in Britain to Augu - 
;ine, the primate attempted to establish his authority over the 
British bishops, whom he met in conrerence a: Aust-on-Severn 
Augustine made three demands — that tne bruonssnouia ooserve 
the Roman computation of Easter, should adopt the Roman rite 
in the administration of baptism, and should join with the Roman 
priests in preaching to the Saxons. Offended by the Laugh t' 






THE BAX0N HEPTARCH*. 15 

demeanour ofc Augustine, the British prelates refused to submit, 
and thus there continued to exist two distinct Christian churches 
in the island. 

III. The three dominant Saxon States. 

1. Northumbria. 670 — 827. Oswy, the last Bretwalda, was 
Bucceeded by Egfrid his son. His reign was principally dis» 
tinguished by his quarrel with Wilfred, archbishop of York, ano 
the first to carry an appeal to Rome. Refusing to receive con- 
secration from the hands of the bishop of Canterbury, he went 
to Paris for that purpose. His pompous style of living led to 
his expulsion from his see ; an appeal to Rome brought over a 
papal decree in his favour, to which, however, Egfrid paid no 
regard. Wilfred then sought an asylum in Sussex, and by his 
labours brought about the conversion of that kingdom (681). 
When Egfrid fell in battle against the Scots, the throne was 
filled by his brother Adlfrith,or Alfred the Wise, who for twenty 
years reigned over the province which his knowledge enlight- 
ened and his virtues cherished. After one or two more reigns 
the history of Northumbria exhibits successive instances of 
treachery and murder to which no other country perhaps can 
furnish a parallel. Within the lapse of 100 years, fourteen 
kings had assumed the sceptre ; and yet of all these one only, 
if one, died in the peaceable possession of royalty. 

One man, however, illustrated this part of Northumbrian 
history—the Venerable Bede (673 — 735). Placed at the age of 
seven in the monastery of Wearmouth, he received a good edu. 
cation, and entered priests' orders. His whole life was spent in 
obtaining or imparting knowledge. His own words are, " All 
my life I spent in that same monastery, giving my whole atten- 
tion to the study of the Holy Scriptures, and in the intervals 
between the hours of regular discipline and the duties of singing 
in the church, I always took pleasure in learning, or teaching, 
or writing something." After putting the last sentence to his 
translation of St. John's Gospel, he was placed on the floor of 
his cell, where he expired, having first repeated the doxology. 

2. Mergia. 657—823. After a succession of weak or 
wicked kings, we come to the celebrated Offa, who having con. 
solidated his dominion at home, commenced his career as a con- 
queror. First he subdued Sussex and Kent, and then took from 
Wesscx all its territory north of the Thames. He afterwards 
retaliated on the Britons for an inroad made into Mercia, by 
driving them back beyond the Wye, and planting the district 
with Anglo-Saxons. To protect his subjects from further an- 
noyances, he constructed a large trench and rampart 100 miles 



15 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

in length, from the estuary of the Dee to the mouth of the Wye, 
long celebrated under the name of OfiVs dyke. So powerful was 
this Mercian king, that Charlemagne paid him some attentions. 
Brihtric of Wessex and Ethelred of Northumbria married his 
daughters, and Ethelbert of East Anglia sought the hand of 
another, but was basely assassinated in OfiVs palace, and his 
kingdom annexed to Mercia. Offa died in 794, and in less than 
30 years his kingdom was subjugated by Egbert of Wessex. 

3. Wessex. 684—800. The first monarch of note was Cad- 
walla, who subdued Sussex and the isle of Wight, and ravaged 
the whole of Kent with fire and sword. Embracing the Christian 
faith, he set out for Rome to receive baptism at the hands of the 
pope ; he died a week after his admission into the church. Ina 
next succeeded (688), who as a warrior was equal, as a legislator 
superior, to the most celebrated of his predecessors. He added a 
part of West Wales to his kingdom. At an assembly of the 
Witan he passed a series of laws, " by which he regulated the 
administration of justice, fixed the legal compensation for crimes, 
checked the prevalence of hereditary feuds, placed the conquered 
Britons under the protection of the state, and exposed and pun- 
ished the frauds which might be committed in the transfer of 
merchandise and the cultivation of land." Ina and his wife 
ended their days at Rome, where he is said to have built a school 
for the education of his countrymen, with a church and burial- 
ground for their use ; to support this establishment he imposed 
the payment of a penny on every family, which was denomi- 
nated Romescot. 

After a few unimportant reigns we arrive at Brihtrie, who had 
married Eadburga, the daughter of Offa, a princess as ambitious 
and unprincipled as her father. Egbert, also a descendant of 
Cerdic, had opposed this succession without success ; he then re- 
tired to the court of Charlemagne, where he resided several years. 
Eadburga, jealous of her husband's affection for one of his thanes, 
mixed for the latter a cup of poison, but both the king and his 
favourite partook of it, and died. This vile woman then withdrew 
to the Continent, and died a beggar at Pavia. To show its de- 
testation of this crime, the Witan passed a law depriving the con- 
sorts of future kings of the style and privileges of royalty. 
Egbert now (800) returned from France, and took the throne of 
Wessex without opposition. 

THE ANGLO-SAXON KINGDOM. 827-1066. 

By most writers Egbert is counted as the first king of England. 
This, however, is not strictly correct, though it is stated that this 
monarch "abolishing the distinction of Saxon and Angle, and all 



THE ANGLO-SAXON KINGDOM. 11 

provincial appellations, commanded the island to be called Eng- 
land, and procured himself to be crowned and denominated king 
of England." To this statement it is objected, that till after the 
time of Alfred the successors of Egbert sign themselves kings of 
the West Saxons ; that Egbert did not incorporate East Anglia, 
Mercia, or Northumbria ; that these kingdoms were destroyed 
by the Danes ; and that Athelstan by destroying the Danish 
sovereignty became the first monarch of England. 

1. Egbert (800—837). The residence of Egbert at the court of 
France prepared him to wield a sceptre with effect. The example 
of the emperor taught him the difficult policy of governing the 
discordant members of a body politic ; and in the wars of the 
Franks he acquired a military knowledge superior to that of his 
Anglo-Saxon compeers. After spending a few years in consoli- 
dating Wessex, he laid waste West Wales ; at a later period he 
planted his standard in Anglesea. In 823 he tried his strength 
against Beornwulf , king of Mercia, and defeated him at Elian- 
dune, near Wilton ; in the same year he secured the submission 
of Kent, Sussex, Essex, and East Anglia. Four years later he 
conquered Mercia, but allowed its king Wiglaf to retain the 
sceptre on payment of an annual tribute. The same year (827) 
he marched against the Northumbrians, but they met him with 
the offer of obedience and allegiance. 

This reign is further noted for the first invasion of the Danes 
(832), or Northmen, predatory oands from the Baltic or its 
neighbourhood. Piracy they deemed the most honorable occupa- 
tion and the best harvest of wealth. Not content to rob and kill 
these men delighted in wanton cruelty ; infants were torn from 
the mother's breast, and tossed from the point of one lance to 
another ; their captives were impaled or crucified on houses and 
trees ; and towns and villages were given to the flames after an 
indiscriminate massacre of all the inhabitants. Such were the 
barbarians who desolated England for two centuries. Single 
ships had appeared on the coast before, but in this year they 
came in force and ravaged the Isle of Sheppy, and in the year 
following 35 ships emptied their crews at Charmouth, and made 
great slaughter. In 835 a larger fleet came and joined with the 
people of West Wales, and it was Egbert's last exploit to give 
them a defeat at Hengeston. 

2. Ethelwulf (837 — 858), the son of Egbert, succeeded ; a 
man carefully educated, and, as some say, originally intended for 
the Church. In his reign the Danes came in increasing numbers, 
and there was great slaughter at. London, Canterbury, and 
Rochester (838). After some respite they returned (851), and 
took Canterbury and London by storm. Subsequently they were 



13 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HI8TOBY. 

defeated at Ockley, in Surrey. From this time they began to 
winter in England, staying at first in the Isle of Thanet. In a 
Witan (855) the king gave by charter the tenth part of his land 
for the glory of God and his own salvation. M This grant, which 
is only to be taken as a proof of the personal piety of Ethelwulf, 
in bestowing a tenth part of his private estate on the Church, is 
often incorrectly spoken of as if it were the origin of tithes in 
England." The same year the king, with his son Alfred, made 
£ pilgrimage to Rome, where he rebuilt the Saxon school, then 
recently burnt down. On the road he fell in love with Judith, 
then about 12 years of age, the daughter of Charles the Bald 
of France ; taking her to wife, an insurrection followed, and he 
was forced to resign Wessex to Ethelbald his son, and content 
himself with Kent and its dependent provinces. 

3. Ethelbald (858— 860), son of Ethelwulf, succeeded only to 
Wessex, his brother taking the provinces which the father had 
held. The only thing marking this reign is the scandalous beha- 
viour of the king in taking to wife Judith his mother-in law. 
By the influence of the Church and the murmurs of his people 
he was induced to dissolve this contract. Returning to France. 
Judith was put in confinement by her friends, but there she 
captivated Baldwin the forester, and, escaping in disguise, 
became his wife. Charles, her father, with some difficulty was 
persuaded to accept this union ; on doing so he gave his son-in- 
law all the region between the Scheldt, the Sambre, and the sea, 
and created him a count of the empire. From Baldwin, first 
earl of Flanders and Judith, descended Matilda, the wife of 
William the Conqueror. 

4. Ethelbert (860— 866), second son of Ethelwulf, succeeded 
jo Wessex with the consent of the Witan. The first year of this 
reign is the date assigned as the commencement of the second 
Danish invasion. The short respite enjoyed by England was due 
not to any improvement in the habits of the Danes, but to their 
being profitably engaged in Gaul. " Paris was burnt, together 
with many of the principal cities of that country ; so extensive 
were their operations, that while some of their squadrons as- 
cended the Scheldt, others passed the Straits of Gibraltar, and 
sailingup the Mediterranean, had visited the southern shores with 
their fury." In this reign the barbarians stormed Winchester, 
but in a battle they were defeated. Another horde landed in 
Thanet (865), &nd though the men of Kent promised tliem money 
the army stole away and ravaged the eastern part of the county. 

5. Ethelred (866 — 871), third son of Ethelwulf, came to the 
throne of Wessex, in prejudice of the sons of Ethelbert, which was 
not, however, contrary to the practice ol the age. Indeed, it vrtt 









ThE ANGLO-SAXON KLNGDOM. 13 

uot a time for children to become kings, for the throne was 
scarcely tilled before the great confederacy began to arrive. Ac- 
cording to the chronicles, this formidable invasion was occasioned 
this way. Ella, king of Northumbria, had caused Regnar Lod- 
brok, a Danish chief who had became his prisoner, to be cast into 
a pit full of vipers, by which he was stung to death ; to avenge 
the fate of their father, lngwar and Ubbo his sons, eight kings, 
and twenty earls came over at the head of thousands of warriors. 
Landing in East Anglia (866), they obtained horses, and in the 
year following made themselves masters of York ; a part of their 
band settled in Northumbria, and the remainder moving south- 
ward took possession of Nottingham, which thenceforth became 
one of the Danish burghs — the others were Derby, Leicester, Lin- 
coln, Stamford, York, and Chester. In 870, the enemy entered 
East Anglia, slew Edmund the king, and destroyed Peterborough 
Abbey. The next year, Ethelred and his brother Alfred fought 
the Danes at Reading, Ashdown, Basing, and other places, victory 
following sometimes one side and sometimes the other. Ethelred 
now dies, as some say, from a wound received in battle. 

6. Alfred the Great (871 — 901), the fourth son of Ethel- 
wulf , was born at Wantage in 849. Of his mother, Osburgha, we 
know little besides the fact that she was a woman of piety, and 
devoted all her energies to her household. Ic is uncertain 
whether she was dead in 856, when her husband married Judith 
of France, or whether, as some suppose, she was put away to 
make room for the new favourite. At one time Judith had the 
credit of teaching Alfred to read ; this notion is now discarded, 
for beside other objections, it is not probable that a French 
princess, only a child, and but a short time in England, would 
undertake the instruction of her step-son in his mother tongue* 
When but five years of age Alfred, properly accompanied, went 
to Rome, where Leo IV. bestowed upon him the royal unction ; 
two years later he made the same journey in company with his 
tather. In 868 he married Alswitha, of the royal family of 
Mercia ; at the marriage feast a distressing malady seized the 
prince, and never wholly left him all his life. 

The commencement of Alfred's reign opened inauspiciously, 
for in several battles with the Danes he met with defeat, and in 
the sequel was forced to buy the heathen out of the kingdom. 
A new band of adventurers then overran Mercia, and its king 
Burhred in despair witnorew to Home Wessex was now fated 
to fall also. Gutnrum creating up his camp at Cambridge, took 
Wareham, and was bought off by Alfred ; subsequently the 
1 »anish chief fixed his residence at Gloucester, and. contrary to 
the usual practice, resolved au a winter campaigu. Alfred wa-j 



29 OUTLINES OF ENGmSH HISTvrtY. 

nearly surprised in Chippenham (878), and with difficultyescap-ad 
with a few trusty followers to the Isle of Athelney, a place then 
inaccessible on account of bogs and inundations. During his 
five months' residence in this retreat he was joined by many 
of his followers, who from time to time made excursions 
into the neighbouring districts to obtain supplies of food and 
observe the enemy. Whether Alfred himself went in disguise 
into the camp of the Danes is very doubtful, and so is the story 
of the burnt cakes. 

A party of Danes having met with defeat in Devon, Alfred sent 
out messengers to gather his subjects to battle, which was given 
at Ethandune (near Westbury) ;"the Danes were defeated in the 
fcield, and then starved out of their entrenchments. Guthrum 
submitted, and by treaty the Danes were to hold England north 
and east of the Thames, Lea, and Ouse, while all to the south of 
that line should be to Alfred. The principal Danish leaders em- 
braced Christianity, and then set out for their assigned quarters. 
No soonerwas Gutlirum disposed of than another band appeared 
under Hastings, who, after keeping the kingdom in a condition 
of disquiet for sixteen years, went over sea to the Seine. 

Meanwhile Alfred was not idle. In that part of Englano 
which he governed he gave a new organization to the fyrd, or 
national militia, and a fleet of many hundred vessels was raised, 
of ships swifter and larger than before. Fifty castles were 
erected in places fitted to prevent the landing or impede the pro- 
gress of an enemy. The empire of law was again restored, and 
the execution of justice rendered strict and regular. Not, how 
ever, as has been often said, by dividing England into counties, 
hundreds, and tithings — by forming a body of new laws — or by 
instituting trial by jury. For these territorial divisions existed 
before, and Alfred himself says that he made no new laws; trial 
by jury did not exist in Saxon times, but a system of compurga- 
tion. Alfred next turned his attention to the instruction of his 
people, learned men were brought over from foreign countries, 
schools opened in different places, and all free men of a certain 
station required to send their children to learn the arts of reading 
and writing. 

Few sovereigns have received so large a measure of praise ai 
Alfred, because few indeed have so well deserved it. Some faults 
he had, but after the early part of his reign his conduct was ex- 
emplary. That he saved England from total subjugation by the 
Danes, is a merit scarcely greater than his restoration of that pari 
which fell to him to a condition of peace and prosperity. His 
labours were untiring, yet he mads leisure to improve his own 
mind, and to become a fair scholar for the age in which he lived. 



THE ANGL0-8A20N EINGDOtt 21 

7. Edward the Elder (901 — 925), son of Alfred, was called 
to the throne, but for a time opposed by the son of Ethelred, who, 
with his supporters, met with defeat and death. A fresh horde 
of Danes was defeated at Wodenslield (910). In conjunction 
with his sister Ethelfieda, the "Lady of the Mercians," he erected 
fortresses at Wigmore, Bridgenorth, Stafford, Tamworth, 
Leicester, Warwick, and many other places; on her death in 
920, Mercia was incorporated with Wessex. The latter years oi 
Edward's reign proved the soundness of his policy ; at several 
points the Danes tried tboir fortune, but were foiled by the forts 
When further attempts appeared hopeless, Edward was chosen 
" for father and lord" by the Danes of East Anglia and North- 
umbria, the princes of Wales, and subsequently by the king of 
the Scots, and of the Strath-Clyde Britons. 

8. Athelstan (925 — 940), son of Edward, succeeded without 
dispute to Wessex and Mercia. Northumbria was less compli- 
ant, but on the death of its king, Athelstan seized that kingdom 
and added it to Saxon England. The Britons of West Wales he 
forced beyond the Tamer, and those of Wales proper he com- 
pelled to keep on the right side of the Wye : the Welsh princes 
moreover engaged to pay 20 lbs. of gold, 300 lbs. of silver, and 
25,000 head of cattle as a yearly tribute. In 937, Anlaff, son of 
the late king of Northumbria, entered the Humberwith 600 ships 
full of adventurers, to whom joined themselves the forces of the 
Scots and Britons. Now was Athelstan's time of trial, and at 
first it seemed as if fortune had forsaken him, but at the terrible 
battle of Brunanburgh he came off victorious. The northmen 
left on the field five sea-kings, seven earls, and many thousand 
warriors ; this victory confirmed the ascendency of Athelstan, 
and all the countries, originally conquered and colonized by the 
different Saxon tribes, became united under the same crown. 
ik To Athelstan belongs the glory of having established what haf 
ever since been called the kingdom of England." 

9. Edmund the Elder (940—946), second son of Edward 
came to the throne at the age of eighteen ; his reign was brief anc 
full of trouble. Anlaff again appeared in Northumbria, and, 
putting himself at the head of the Danish party, marched south- 
ward, took Tarn worth, and defeated the king. Negotiations were 
opened which ended in Edmund's ceding to the Danes the full 
sovereignty of all England north of Watling-street. Anlaff dying 
the next year, the Danes were again subjugated ; Cambria was 
also conquered and given to Malcolm of Scotland, on condition of 
defending the north against invaders. Edmund ended his career 
&t a feast at Pucklekirk, where he fell by the hand of an outlaw. 

10. Edred (946 — 955), third son of Edward, was chosen King 



22 OUTLINES Or ENGLISH HISTORY. 

in an assembly of prelates and barons, and the vassal princes ai 
Wales. His first employment was the subjugation of Northum- 
bria, again in revolt under Eric, a pirate. The Saxon army 
ravaged the country, and when a new competitor appeared in the 
person of Anlaff Cuiran, a battle was fought, in which Eric and 
five kings fell. After desolating a part the whole province was 
divided into shires, over which officers were placed of the king's 
appointment. Two celebrated churchmen possessed much in- 
fluence in this reign, Turketul, grandson of Alfred the Great, 
and Dunstan, abbot of Glastonbury. The latter first rose to 
notice in the reign of Athelstan, but having fallen into some 
discredit withdrew from court. In the reign of Edred he be- 
came the keeper of the king's conscience ; being offered the 
6ee of Winchester, he refused, on which St. Peter in a vision 
bade him not decline hereafter the primacy of England. 

11. Edwy (955 — 958), son of Edmund, was chosen to the 
throne by the Witan. Having married Elgiva, a woman of great 
personal attractions, he was better pleased with her company on 
his coronation day than with that of the nobles who caroused in 
the hall. This gave offence, and Dunstan, first addressing brutal 
language to the queen and her mother, dragged the king into the 
presence of the nobles. For this outrage Dunstan was banished. 
The mcnks then, with Odo the primate at their head, instigated 
Mercia and Northumbria to revolt, and accept Edgar as their 
king. Odo next forced the king to abandon his wife ; she was 
then seized by the primate's soldiers, branded in the face with a 
red-hot iron, and banished to Ireland. Finding her*way back, 
Elgiva was seized near Gloucester by Odo's retainers, and being 
hamstrung, left to die in great misery. Edwy himself soon 
followed, but whether he died of grief or by the sword is uncer- 
tain. Meanwhile Dunstan had returned to England, and acted 
with his party in these transactions. 

12. Edgar (958 — 975), second son of Edmund, came to the 
throne of Wessex in his sixteenth year ; of Mercia and Northum- 
bria he was already king. This reign was of so peaceful a cha- 
racter that Edgar received the title of Pacific ; it was, however, 
owing to the abilities of Dunstan and his co-ministers. That 
fortunate monk becoming primate, his party put forth all their 
power, in which they were seconded by the licentious king, to 
secure the celibacy of the clergy, and drive out from all religious 
houses the married clergy who refused to separate from their 
wives. This movement was partly due to the irregularities that 
had crept into those establishments during the Danish invasions. 
The principal political event ot the reign was the more perfect 
consolidation of the several states, and the efficient measurrts 



THE ANGLO-SAXON KINGDOM. 23 

taken to keep the turbulent in awe. Several hundred vessels 
were kept afloat, and in the summer months the king in person 
made the circuit of the island. By land he made progiesses^ 
aolding courts of justice and hearing appeals. The vassal 
princes were called in at times to till out his train ; on one occa- 
sion so many as eight, who had resorted to him at Chester, 
rowed their lord from Chester to the monastery of St. John. 

13. Edward the Martyr (975 — 978), son of Edgar, suc- 
ceeded at the age of fourteen to a disputed thTone, for Elf rid a, 
Edgar's second wife, claimed it for her son Ethelred. As the 
Kingdom was divided on the church question, the supporters of 
the married clergy sided with Elfrida, butDunstan's party proved 
the stronger. The only point of interest in this reign connects 
itself with that churchman, whose measures seemed likely to enc 1 
in a civil war. No longer in possession of the power to force, 
he had recourse to miracles. At a synod at Winchester, a voice 
from the crucifix spoke in his favour, and at a great council at 
Calne, Dunstan committed his cause to the power of heaven ; 
thereupon that part of the floor on which his opponents stood 
gave way, and several of the nobles were killed or maimed. 
Soon after this, the young king hunting in the neighbourhood 
of Corf e Castle, where dwelt his mother-in-law, made her a call, 
and while drinking in the saddle was stabbed in the back by one 
of her servants. Faint with loss of blood, he fell from his 
saddle, but one foot hanging in the stirrup, he was dragged 
along the road and taken up a corpse. 

14. Ethelred the Unready (978 — 1016), second son of 
Edgar, ascended the throne at the age of ten years ; Dunstan 
crowned the boy witn a curse, which contributed to its own ful- 
filment. Two years after Ethelred's accession (980) saw the 
commencement of the third and last Danish invasion, but it was 
not till eleven years after that the number of the barbarians be- 
came so formidable as to overbalance the power of resistance, 
already much weakened by internal dissension. Repeatedly they 
were* boughtoff with sums of money varying from ten to twenty- 
four thousand pounds, a hyde of land (120 acres) being purchase- 
able at that time for five pounds. The year 1002 was memorable 
for the marriage of the king with Emma of Normandy, and the 
massacre of all the Danes in the king's dominions, as a punish- 
ment for their disloyalty, and as a measure of precaution. 
Whether the massacre included all the resident Danes, cr recent 
settlers, or only Danish mercenaries, is a point unsettled. Among 
the slain was Gunhilda, sister of Sweyn of Denmark ; to avenge 
the death of his sister and countrymen, the King landed in Eng- 
land, and for four years the kingdom presented f the mournful 



24 OUTLINES 0? ENGLISH HISTORY 

Fpectacleof a nobility divided by faction, treason, and murder; oi 
a king unequal to the duties of his station ; and of a people the 
eport of an exasperated and vindictive enemy." Ir_ 1008 the 
Witan ordered that all landowners be assessed at the rate of one 
ship for every 310 hydes ; this imposition is the remote origin of 
the well-known tax of ship money. But all availed nothing in 
consequence of the treachery of some of the principal nobles ; 
andThurkill's host ravaged the south of England fo. three years. 
In 1012, through the treachery of Edric the earl, Canterbury 
was sacked and 7,000 of its inhabitants slain ; Elphege the pri- 
mate, refusing to pay a ransom of £3,000, wasbrutally murdered. 
The contest came to an issue in 1013. Sweyn received at 
Gainsborough the submission of all the Danes north of Watling 
Street. Moving his host southward, he issued orders to ravage 
the open country, pillage the churches, burn the towns, and put 
every male to the sword. An attempt on London failed ; he then 
turned off, and having established his head-quarters at Bath, pro- 
claimed himself king of England, and summoned all the thanes 
to come in and swear allegiance. Ethelred, abandoned by his 
people, sent off his wife and children to Normandy, and shortly 
after found an asylum there himself. Sweyn died within a 
month from Ethelred's leaving the kingdom. The Witan now 
consented to the king's return, if he would promise to rule 
better than before. Canute, who had succeeded his father, re- 
tired for a while to Denmark, but returning in 1015 found 
support from the perfidious Edric. Ethelred now dies. 

15. Edmund Ironsides (1016), son of Ethelred, was accepted 
as king by the citizens of London, but the Witan reluctantly ac- 
knowledged Canute. The Danes immediately carried 300 ships 
up the Thames, Edmund drew out his forces and defeated the 
enemy at Brentford ; shortly afterwards he was himself defeated 
at Assandun, and all the nobility of the English race was there 
destroyed. Edmund now retired into Gloucestershire, and at a 
meeting with Canute in the isle of Olney, the two kings agreed 
to divide the kingdom. The same year Ironsides perished bj 
assassination. II is sons, Edward and Edmund, were sent first 
to Sweden and thence to Hungary; the former became the 
father of Edgar Atheling, Christina, and Margaret, who married 
Malcolm of Scotland, and thus " the rights of the line of Cerdic 
were transmitted to Malcolm's progeny, after the conquest ot 
England." 

Three Danish kings rule in England. 1016—1042. 

16. CANUTE (1016—1035), son of Sweyfi king of Denmark, 
came into quiet possession of the whole kingdom on the death of 
Edmund. He took to wife Emma, the widow of Ethelred, and 



THE ANGLO 8AX-3N KINGDOM. 25 

B6 the country became peaceable proved himself a just and bene- 
ficent prince. To soothe the country, most of the Danish troops 
were sent home ; and when themisruleof the subordinate magis- 
trates came to an end, the country enjoyed a quiet unknown for 
many years before. The fiery spirits among the Saxons he 
employed in foreign wars ; Godwin, at the head of the Saxons, 
defeated the Swedes, and another force made a conquest of Nor- 
way. Both the Cun \brian and Scottish kings found it necessary 
to acknowledge Can ate as their supe r ior. Becoming a Christian 
ne made a pilgrimage to Rome, and left everywhere proofs of 
h is devotion and liberality. On his return he addressed by letter 
the people of England — " Be it known to you all that I have 
dedicated my life to the service of God, to govern my kingdoms 
with equity, and to observe justice in all things. If by the vio- 
lence or negligence of youth I have violated justice heretofore, it 
is my intention, by the help of God, to make full compensation." 

17. Harold Harefoot (1035 — 1040), son of Canute, obtained 
the support of the Danish party, but earl Godwin and the West 
Saxons were for Hardi Canute, the son of Canute by Emma, f By 
compromise the latter took Wessex, the former the other part 
of the kingdom. Edward and Alfred, sons of Ethelred, headed 
an expedition from Normandy, but Emma gave them no count- 
enance, and the attempt failed. Alfred was afterwards inveigled 
into England and basely murdered : this crime was laid to 
Godwin, though upon doubtful evidence. Emma now fled from 
the kingdom, not without suspicion of being in some way con- 
nected with this deed. 

18. Hardicanute (1040 — 1042), son of Canute, came to the 
throne by the consent of all parties. His reign was marked by 
great oppression. Taxes were levied by troops, and the people of 
Worcester, in an insurrection, putting two of the collectors to 
death, the whole county was ravaged for four days, and the city 
given to the flames. Godwin being called upon to clear himself 
of the murder of Alfred, was acquitted by his peers of any parti- 
cipation in the deed. Hardicanute died at a feast at Lambeth. 

The Saxon dynasty restored. 1042—1066. 

19. Edward the Confessor (1042—66), son of Ethelred, 
took the throne, as Edward, son of Edmund Ironsides, was not 
resident in England. But the choice had little to recommend 
it, for the king was more a Norman than an Englishman, having 
resided 27 years in Normandy ; he was moreover of simple mind, 
if not positively of weak intellect, which occasioned the power or 
the kingdom to fall into the hands of a few powerful nobles. Of 
these Godwin held the first place, and his influence was increased 

c 



2(5 0CTLINE8 OF ENGLI8H HISTORY 

by the marriage of his daughter, Edith the Fair to the king 
This powerful earl held the government of Wessex, Susses, and 
Kent ; his son Sweyn, Gloucesterandfourneighbouringcounties; 
and his son Harold, East Anglia and four counties. Earl Siwaru 
held from the Humber to the borders of Scotland, and Leof ric f 
earl of Leicester, governed the northern part of Mercia. 

One of Edward's first acts was to confiscate his mother's lands 
and other property, because of her attachment to the Danish 
party. A less excusable policy was that of bringing over his 
Norman friends by shoals, and placing them in various public 
offices — " the language of his court was French, and he had 
French chaplains, on whom he bestowed bishoprics ; French 
governors of his castles, and French body-guards." The great 
influence of the Norman party at court galled the Godwin family 
more than any other, f*ftd an occasion only was wanted to show 
their dislike of the king's friends. This happened in 1051. 
Eustace of Boulogne, the king's brother-in-law, provoked a 
quarrel at Dover, when many persons were killed on both sides. 
As this town lay in Godwin's jurisdiction, Edward commanded 
him to punish the inhabitants by military execution. He re- 
fused, and gathering his forces, marched to Gloucester, where 
the king then was to meet his Witan ; but Siward and Leofric 
brought their forces to assist Edward, and it was agreed that 
the matter should be settled in London. The result was that 
the earl and his family found it necessary to quit the kingdom. 
In the next year they returned in force, and Edward deemed it 
expedient to accept Godwin's explanations ; the Normans were 
now outlawed for having given bad advice to the king. A year 
later the earl died, and Harold took his father's earldom. 

In 1039 Macbeth murdered Duncan, king of Scotland ; his 
son Malcolm found an asylum with his uncle Siward, earl of 
Northumbria. When Macduff, the thane of Fife, headed an in- 
surrection against the murderer, Malcolm set out to join him, 
accompanied by his uncle and a great army ; Macbeth was slain, 
and Malcolm Canmore mounted the throne of his father (1064), 
In the year following, Siward died, and his earldom was given 
to Tostig, brother of Harold. A war with Wales led Harold 
thither with an army (1063) ; the Welsh submitted, and sent 
in the head of Griffin their prince as a peace-ottering. Trouble 
came next from the north, where Tostig's unmerciful rule had 
provoked an insurrection ; the people chose Morcar for their 
earl, which act of theirs the king confirmed. Harold made an 
effort to restore his brother, but the Northumbrians decidedly 
refused to have him ; the expelled earl then svithdrew to Flan- 
ders to the court of em I Baldwin, whose bister he had marrijd 



THE AKGLO-BAXON KINGDOM. 27 

The Confessor died on twelfth-day eve, and was mteried in the 
West-Minster, which had been just consecrated. 

20. Harold (1066), son of earl Godwin, came to the throne 
by choice of the Witan, ana as some say, also by the will of 
Edward. Other claimants there were — Edgar the Atheling, and 
William the Norman — the former prince feeble in body, and still 
more feeble in mind. William of Normandy claimed England as 
a bequest made to him by Edward, a gift which the king was not 
competent to make, for the crown could be disposed of only by 
the great council of the nation. No doubt William had long had 
bib eye on this country, and when Harold, by shipwreck or some 
other cause, was at his mercy, he made the young Saxon swear to 
promote his interests in England. Great therefore was William's 
indignation when he heard that Harold had become king ; a 
messenger was sent to remind him of his oath, but Harold replied 
that he was king by the choice of the people, and would defend 
his crown. In Normandy preparations for an invasion began at 
cnce, adventurers came in from all parts, incited by the promise 
of lands, money, benefices, and wives, accordingto their rank and 
degree. William assigned as reasons for his offensive movement 
—the bequest made by his cousin, the perjury of Harold, the 
expulsion of the Normans at the instigation of Godwin, and the 
massacre of the Danes by Ethelred. The alleged perjury of 
Harold brought the papal sanction for the conquest of England, 
which when conquered was to be held as the fief of St. Peter. 

Meanwhile Harold had to contend with his brother Tostig, 
who had been incited by William (William and Tostig had mar- 
ried two sisters) to head an expedition to the north. Aided by 
Harold Hardrada, king of Norway, the expelled earl defeated 
Edwin and Morcar near York ; this defeat compelled the king to 
leave the south to oppose his brother, In a battle at Stamford* 
bridge (Sept. 25) both Tostig and Hardrada fell, along with 
thousands of their followers. All this time William was collecting 
men and ships at the mouth of the Dive; after waiting long foi 
a fair wind, the expedition sailed from St. Valery (Sept. 26), and 
arrived at Pevensey (Sept. 28), at which place 60,000 men landed 
without opposition. As soon as tidings reached Harold at York, 
he set out with his forces. Reaching London, he was persuuded 
to wait for reinf orcements,or at least to allow another to lead the 
army against the enemy, seeing he had given William his oatli. 
But Harold rejected the advice, and further weakened his forces 
by sending round a fleet of 700 vessels to cut off the duke's escape. 

The English encamped (Oct. 13) in one compact mass on an 
eminence at Senlac, nine miles from Hastings, and, as the story 
goes, 8[>ent the night in revelling, the Normans occupying theirs 



28 0UTLINE8 OF ENGLISH HISTCBY 

in religious duties. On the morning of the 14th, William divided 
his army into three bodies, taking charge of the cavalry himself. 
41 God help us!" was the cry of the Normans; "The holy rood, 
the rood of God ! " of the English. Joining battle at nine in the 
morning, it raged for six hours without any decided advantage on 
either side. A feigned retreat at length tempted the Saxons to 
break their close order, and the Norman cavalry severely punished 
them for their folly. At this period of the battle an arrow 
pierced Harold in the eye ; shortly after, his brothers Gurth and 
Leofwin fell by the side of the standard. Without leaders the 
English broke up and dispersed in the adjoining wood. " It 
was," observes Turner, "the death of Harold which gave William 
the sceptre. The force of England was unconquered. A small 
portion of it only had been exerted ; and if Harold had survived, 
or any other heii atall competent to the crisis, William would have 
earned no more from his victory than the privilege of fighting 
another battle with diminished strength. . . . But it was 
ordained by the Supreme Director of events that England should 
no longer remain isolated from the rest of Europe ; but should, 
for its own benefit and the improvement of mankind, become 
connected with the affairs of the Continent. The Anglo-Saxon 
dynasty was therefore terminated ; and a sovereign, with great 
'jontinental possessions, was led to the English throne. By the 
consequences of this revolution England acquired that interest 
and established that influence in the transactions and fortunes of 
its neighbours which have continued to the present day, with 
equal advantages to its inhabitants and to Europe." 

Political and Religious Institutions of the Saxons. 

1. Distinction of Ranks. — First in rank was the king, originally 
however they were only chieftains of bodies of free men, whose 
allegiance they could claim in time of war, but over whom they had 
imperfect control when peace came. The consolidation and exten- 
sion of the royal power took place at an early period after the Saxons 
settled in England. The principal prerogatives assigned to the Anglo- 
Saxon kings are — the summoning and proroguing the Witan, ap- 
pointing aldermen and other public officers, superintending the 
ootnage, together with the rights of purveyance, and a right of 
property in forests, treasure-trove, mines, wrecks, markets, tolls, &c. 
With respect to the succession, though the Saxons limited the in- 
heritance of the crown to one royal family, they were not very 
scrupulous about its devolution upon the nearest heir. The eldest 
s<;.u of the late king, being of full age and otherwise competent, was 
the natural successor, but the public security in those times was 
thought incompatible with a minor king. The contort of the king 
was at first called queen, but after the crime of Eadburga she was 
termed the lady. Members Ot the royal family were called ethelinqs. 

Next iu order were the alderman or carlt. The districts which 



THE ANGLU-8AX0N KINGDOM. 29 

they governed were denominated their shires, and at first much 
smaller than the present counties. When the West Saxon kings had 
conquered the neighbouring states, several shires were comprised iu 
one earldom. The duties of an alderman were — to lead the men of 
his shire to battle, to preside with the bishop in the county court, and 
to enforce the execution of justice. Of the fines and rents paid to 
the king, he usually received one- third. Originally the office was in 
the gift of the king ; latterly it was claimed as the right of particular 
families. The word jarl or earl superseded that of alderman from the 
time of Canute. 

After the evhelborn or nobles, there were two classes of freemen — > 
Thanes and Ceorls, the owners and cultivators of land. The thanes 
vere a numerous and distinguished order of men, divided however 
into greater and lesser thanes, the former acknowledging no other 
superior than the king. Five hydes of land was the least that a thane 
could hold ; having less than that, he sunk to the rank of a ceorl. 
The ceorl was bound, though not always, to the land which he culti- 
vated. He was occasionally called upon to bear arms for the public 
safety ; he was capable of property, and of the privileges which it con- 
ferred. If he came to possess five hydes of land, with a churfih and 
mansion of his own, he could claim to rank as a thane, and in like 
manner if he had sailed thrice to a foreign land with a cargo of his 
own. So book-learning would raise a ceorl to be a lore thane. 

At the bottom of the scale were the theoics, thralls, or serfs, a class 
supposed to have been formed originally of the British, and kept up 
by those who were born slaves, and such Saxons as were captured in 
war, or degraded because of their inability to pay the fine for offences 
committed. They were generally attached to the manor, and sold 
with the land and cattle. Sometimes they were used as " live money " 
to purchase or barter goods, their value being rated at four times that 
of an ox. They might be bound, scourged, or branded at pleasure, 
and though not allowed to be killed wantonly, only a nominal fine 
was imposed on the murderer. Owners occasionally manumitted 
their slaves by presenting them before the proper officer, at the same 
time giving the theow a sword or lance, and telling him he was at 
libe?ty to go where he pleased. 

2. The Witanagemot or Great Council. — The Witan, or 
assembly of wise men, met at one of the royal cities, at the festivals 
of Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide, and at any other time or place 
appointed by the king. It was composed of the king in person, the 
superior clergy, the earls, and the greater thanes; perhaps some of 
the inferior classes attended, though not to take part in deliberation. 
The powers of the Witan are thus enumerated : — They possessed a 
consultative voice, and right to consider every pubiic act which could 
be authorised by the king. The Witan deliberated upon the making 
of new laws; it had the power of making alliances and treaties of 
peace; of electing the king, of deposing the king if his government 
was not for the benefit of the people; of regulating ecclesiastical 
matters; of disposing of what concerned the public lands; of declaring 
the lands of offenders forfeited ; of acting as a supreme court of 
justice; and in conjunction with the king, it had the power to levy 
taxes for the public service, and to raise land and sea forces. 

3. Courts por the Administration of Justice.— The lowest 
oourt was that of " sac and soc," which held pleas and imposed finss 



30 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY 

^rithin a certain district ; this right was exercised by all the preatct 
ind some of the leeser thanes. The jurisdiction in some cases ex- 
tended to all offences, in others they had not this privilege, neither 
^ould they punish any tut their own tenants. As they were held in 
the lord's hall, they were termed hall-motes. The next in order was 
the kundred-tncte, which met monthly, under the presidency of the 
alderman or chief officer of the hundred. This court took cognizance 
of civil and criminal causes within the bounds of the district, but its 
usefulness was not confined to judicial proceedings. In a period when 
few possessed the arts of reading and writing, the stability of pecuniary 
transactions depended much on the honesty and character of,., the 
witnesses, and the testimony of the hundred court was deemed con- 
clusive in questions of disputed rights or obligations. Of higher 
digciity was the shire-mote, which was held twice a year, and presided 
over by the bishop and alderman, with equal authority. Every grea. 
landholder was compelled to attend in person or by deputy. The 
affairs of the church were first attended to, then those of the king, 
and lastly those of private individuals. 

4. Modes of Trial. — In all the courts the judges were the free 
tenants owing suit to tho court, and subsequently called its peers. 
In civil causes the oath of the defendant was taken, supported by 
those of his neighbours; at one time four were thought sufficient, at 
another, fifty were required. If the prosecution was a criminal one. 
the person charged might purge himself with his own oath and those of 
bis compurgators, who swore that they believed his oath to be up- 
right and clean. But the accused might elect to prove his innocence 
by the ordeal, or judgment of God. Of the ordeal there were several 
kinds; — (1) Corsned, or consecrated bread, which, it was believed, 
would choke a guilty person : (2) Grasping a piece of hot iron and 
carrying it three paces; the burnt hand was bound up for three 
days, and if on taking off the bandage no foul marks appeared, the 
accused was pronounced innocent: or it might be by walking blinded 
and barefoot over nine red-hot ploughshares : (3) Taking a stone out 
of a vessel of boiling water, and binding up the hand as before : (4) 
Binding the accused hand and foot, and throwing him into a pond 
or river; if he floated he was guilty, for the water was too pure to 
receive him; if he sunk, he was deemed innocent. 

5. Modes of Punishment. — Every injury done to a freeman, 
either in person or property, could be atoned for by a pecuniary pay- 
ment. Hence every man had his price, or weregild, — the ceorl, or 
two-hundred man, 200 shillings; the lesser thane, 600 shillings; the 
greater thane, 1,200 shillings; the alderman's was twice, an etheling's 
three times, and a king's six times the were of a royal thane. There 
was also a bote payable for bodily injury, a mund for disturbing the 
j;eace, and a wite to the king for every breach of the peace. For 
offences against the state, or the sovereign, other punishments fol- 
lowed. Treason against a lord, fighting in the king's hall, coining 
and other state offences, were deemed deathworthy. Among customary 
punishments were beheading, burning, drowning, stoning, scourging, 
branding, and mutilation. 

tf. Saxon Paganism. — This system, so far as can be gathered, 
ecsLnowiedged one supreme deity, of whom no visible representation 
nn^ht be made, but there were many inferior deities who might be 
symbolized. The Saxon creed embraced the immortality of the soul 



THE ANGLO-SAXON KINGDOM. 31 

£dd a future state of rewards and punishments. Valha!la was th«iv 
p-'.radise, where heroes indulged in martial sports, feasted cm boiled 
flesh, and drank beer and mead out of the skulls of their enemies. 
Niflheim was the abode of evil for bad men and cowards. Of the 
Saxon gods, the first in rank was Odin, a mighty conqueror, who, 
having overrun the north of Europe, claimed the honours formerly 
paid to the supreme Deity. Henceforth Odin, or Wudin, became 
the chief object of their worship: to him they built temples, offered 
sacrifices, and dedicated the fourth day of the week. The second in 
rank was Frea, or Frigga, his wife, from whom we ge+- the name of 
Friday. In like manner, we have Sunday and Monday from their 
worship of the sun and moon; Tuesday from Tyr, or Tuisco; ani 
Saturday from Saeter, a water deity. To the goddess Eastre was 
devoted an annual festival, since transfered without change of name 
to a Christian festival. Besides these, there were innumerable deities, 
arising from their notion that the earth, with all its contents, was 
ruled by genii, who were entitled to veneration, Little is known of 
the Saxon priests as oompared with the druids. Their chief priests 
were carled Drottes, and resided, as is supposed, one in each of the 
Saxon kingdoms. Generally their priest 3 had none of the honours 01 
emoluments of the druids; they were neither legislators nor supreme 
judges, and were subject to certain disabilities. 

Social Institutions of the Saxons. 

1. Food. The Saxons were great eaters, and had four meals a day. 
No meeting was held without a feast, and when the Witan met, the 
king feasted all its members so long as their sittings lasted. Both 
6exes sat together at a table covered with a cloth, on which were set 
platters, bowls, dishes, horns, and knives. Swine's flesh was the most 
common, but in the months of summer the other classes ate other 
meats. When the meat was roasted, it was carried round the table 
on the spit, and each cut for himself, boiled meats were served on a 
dish. They had broths and soups flavoured with herbs. The nobles 
ate wheaten bread, the lower classes bread made of barley or beans, 
rrhich they baked daily for themselves on girdle-plates. In the 
absence of sugar, honey was eaten. Colewort was the common 
vegetable. The usual drink was ale, though those who could afford 
it drank wine and mead. Excessive drinking was a common vice, 
many had their beer halls and wine chambers, where the cup and 
harp circulated to a late hour, and, on festive occasions, through suc- 
cessive days and nights ; even religious houses are charged with 
drinking into the middle of the night. 

2. Clothing. All freemen wore long hair, and beards. The 
under garment was a linen shirt, or woollen if doing penance, over 
tfhich was worn a close-fitting tunic of linen or woollen ; kings and 
nobles wore tunics of silk. This article of dress reached to the knees, 
had long close sleeves, and was eonfined by a belt. The drawers or 
breeches were loose and reached the knee. Hosen were of linen, 
woollen, or leather, laced or bandaged with cross-garters, called shank- 
guards. Short boots were worn or shoes of leather, or wood, or with 
eoles of wood. Out of doors a square mantle covered all, fastened at 
the shoulder. The head was generally bare, though sometimes 
ccrered with a lonical cap. The lower orders wore the same dress. 



32 OUTLINES OF POLISH HISTORY. 

only made of coarser materials. For military purposes the tunic was 
covered with rings, and the head with a Phrygian helmet ; the arms in 
use were a shield, long double-edged sword, pike, dagger, and bill. 

Females, over the under garment, wore a .'lose- fitting tunic, and 
fibove this a long loose garment called a gunna : when the 6kirts were 
^hort it was called a kirtle. The head-dress ot ail classes was a 
wrapper of linen or s : lk, covering both head and neuk. Out of do< rs 
a mantle was worn which flowed to the ground and fastened in front. 
Gloves were not in use. To adorn the head, curling-irons were in 
constant use, and among the upper classes, golden bracelets, earrings, 
and neck crosses were common. 

3. Dwellings. The best class was of wood, very low in pitch, 
thatched with reeds or roofed with shingles ; they had no upper 
storey, no chimney, and very rarely glass windows, using instead linen 
screens, horn, lattice, or shutters. A nobleman's house consisted of 
a series of low buildings, with a hall and chapel ; close by was a hamlet 
of huts, where dwelt the domestic serfs. The hall was the principal 
apartment, in which the noble feasted his guests ; it had a fire in the 
centre and a smoke-hole in the roof. The rude workmanship led to 
the general use of hangings, or " wall clothing." Mostly they had 
ground floors, strewed with rushes, and these not often changed. The 
lower orders dwelt in clay hovels. 

The Saxons used only as much furniture as was absolutely neces- 
sary, of clumsy construction, yet with costly ornamentation. The 
tables were boards or tressels of heavy structure. For seats they had 
forms, stools, and benches; chairs were used for purposes of state. 
Nobles used cups and plates of silver : the inferior classes horn, wood, 
and bone. Clothes and valuables were kept in large chests. Bone 
and silver candlesticks were in use, but they had no sockets. The 
Saxons had beds with posts and curtains, but the common bed, even 
of kings, was a kind of crib or trough filled with straw. The coverlid 
was a skin or cloak. Men generally slept in the hall upon a mattress. 
The furniture of the kitchen consisted of ovens, spits, and cauldrons; 
having no grates, fires were made on the ground, and the pot hung 
over or stood upon a tripod or trivet. 

4. Amusemeicts. The martial sports were running, leaping, riding, 
wrestling, and fighting. The martial dance was a favorite, in which 
they moved among the points of swords and lances. In fighting they 
entered the lists with their arms, and after cutting one another 
to pieces for sport, ended the game in a feast of jollity. Field sports 
were common, such as hunting, hawking, and fishing ; the animals 
hunted were boars, deer, hares, and goats. Every one might hunt 
his own grounds, but the laws were severe for hunting the king's 
forests. The domestic sports were dice, at which many staked their 
money, goods, and persons ; backgammon, jugglers' tricks, darcing, 
zinging, tumbling, and tossing of koives and balls by gleemcn. Cluid- 
reu had their trapball, hoops, &c. 



WILLIAM 1. 33 



THE NORMAN KINGS. 

William I. 1066—1087. Henry I. 1100—1135. 

William II. 1087—1100. Stephen 1135—1154. 

WILLIAM I. 1066-1087. 

The Royal Family. William I. (1027—1087) was the sixth in 
descent from Rollo, first duke of Normandy, and the only son of 
Robert, surnamed the Devil. Hi? father dying whilst William was 
yet a child, he was left to the care of Henry of France. Of his 
mother, Arlette, we only know that she was the daughter of one oi 
the ducal officers, and not married to duke Robert ; after his death 
she married and became the mother of Robert, earl of Mortagne ; 
Odo, bishop of Bayeux ; and a daughter who married the earl of 
Albemarle. William, by reason of the turbulence of the Norman 
barons, was early schooled in the art of war, and, when success had 
improved his position, his alliance was sought by all the princes 
round. He was the slave of ambition and avarice, and allowed 
nothing to stand in the way of the gratification of his passions ; to 
the forms of religion he paid strict attention, hearing mass daily ; he 
was moreover a patron of learning and learned men. " It cannot be 
doubted, that William surpassed all his contemporary rulers in a 
capacity for command, in war certainly, and probably also in peace. 
Sagacity, circumspection, foresight, courage, both in forming plans 
and facing dangers, insight into character, ascendancy over men's 
minds ; all these qualities he doubtless possessed in a very high 
degree." 

The consort of William was Matilda (1031—1083) daughter of Bald- 
win, earl of Flanders. Her affections fell first on the Saxon, Brihtric, 
lord of the honor of Gloucester, then employed on an embassy to 
Flanders, but her love was not returned. William, hearing of her 
beauty, demanded her in marriage, and after waiting several years 
without result, rode over and gave Matilda a sound beating. When 
next he proposed, she replied '* it pleased her well ; " the marriage 
took place in 1052. Matilda had fine natural talents, improved by 
careful education, and when she became duchess of Normandy, proved 
herself a munificent patroness of the arts and learning, and co-operated 
with her husband in seeking the improvement of the people. On her 
becoming queen of England, one of her first acts savoured of spite ,* 
she obtained an order for the perpetual imprisonment of Brihtm 
and the seizure of his lands for herself. Her foolish partiality for her 
son Robert led to serious consequences, and a stern reproof from 
William in these words: — "The woman who deceives her husband, is 
the destruction of her own house." Her latter years were spent in 
Normandy acting as regent for her husband, and were so far froroi 
taing happy that she is said to have died of a broken heart. 

The children of William were : — Robert, duke of Normandy ■ 
Richard, killed by a stag in the New Forest ; William who oeeame 
king ; Henry who became king ; and Adela married to Stephen, count 
t>f Blois. 



34 OCrVi-lNES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

I. Submission of the Saxon authorities. 

After the battle of Senlac, or Hastings, William held hirastlt 
in the neighbourhood in expectation of receiving an offer of the 
crown, and great was his disappointment when he heard that 
Edgar Atheling had been crowned king in London. Marching 
to Romney, he massacred the inhabitants for attacking the 
Norman fleet, and going on to Dover he found the garrison ready 
to capitulate. As the men of Kent offered no resistance, 
William moved straight on London, but finding it well defended, 
he burnt Southwark and then set his troops to ravage the neigh- 
bouring counties. This policy led to disunion among the Saxons, 
the earls Edwin and Morcar withdrew, and Stigand the primate 
6et the example of submission to the Conqueror. Next came 
Atheling, then Edwin and Morcar, three bishops, and the princi- 
pal citizens of London ; at Berkhampstead, William accepted the 
crown of England, and received the oath of allegiance from the 
principal Saxons. On Christmas day he was crowned at West- 
minster, swearing to govern the nation as well as any king that 
had gone before him. On the same da} r , the Norman soldiers set 
fire to some houses, and under cover of the confusion plundered 
the city. Though William was now king of England, he pos- 
sessed only so much of it as was held by military occupation — 
that is, east of a line drawn from Norfolk to Hants. 

II. Completion of the Conquest. 1067—1071. 

At the commencement of his reign, W 7 illiam sought to win the 
affections of the English — by continuing the Saxon laws and 
customs, by renewing to the city of London all its former privi- 
leges, by ordering his officers of revenue to avoid exactions, by 
protecting trade, by redressing the grievances of which the 
people complained, and by treating Edgar Atheling as a friend. 
In March, 1067, the king embarked for Normandy. During his 
absence the arrogance and rapacity of his regents drove the 
people into insurrection; William returned with a determination 
to crush the English by severe measures. First he moved against 
Exeter because the citizens had maltreated some Norman 
mariners, but its inhabitants made so stout a resistance that he 
granted them favourable terms. Morcar and Edwin now stirred 
Mp England from Mercia to the borders of Scotland ; the affair 
wasbadly planned, and they, with Malcolm , who was implicated, 
sought for pardon. Edgar and his sister fled, and being driven 
into the Forth by a storm, Malcolm married Margaret the elder 
sister. In 1069, the north was again in rebellion, headed by Edgar 
end other exiles from Scotland ; the Norman garrison at Durham 



WILLIAM I. 3* 

was put to the sword, and subsequently that of York, numbering 
3000 men. William hurried northwards, regained York and dis- 
persed his followers, with orders to spare neither man nor beast, 
and to destroy houses and every other thing of value which 
they could not carry off. This rendered a flourishing pro- 
vince a desert sixty miles in length. 

In the west, the Welsh and the men of the border attacked 
Shrewsbury, this brought William upon them ; they were driven 
back, and many castles erected all through the border district, 
and yet the Welsh gave great annoyance during the whole reign 
Equally troublesome were the exiles who had formed a Camp of 
Refuge in the isle of Ely, where Hereward a Saxon headed a 
strong party, and in the fastnesses of the Fens set all William's 
lieutenants at defiance. It was not till a fleet took post in the 
Wash, the Fens were enclosed by a land force, and a causeway 
two miles in length constructed, that this confederacy was broken 
up. Of those that submitted, some were executed and others 
mutilated ; Morcar was condemned to perpetual imprisonment, 
and his brother Edwin slain in an attempt to escape ; the fate 
of Hereward is uncertain. 

Subsequently, William retaliated on Scotland for a savage 
inroad which Malcolm had made ; the Scotch king submitted 
(1072) to become the vassal of England, but whether for the 
kingdom of Scotland, or merely for the dominions he held in 
England, is doubtful. Four years later, William's own barons 
entered into a scheme to deprive him of his kingdom ; the affair 
was nipt in the bud, but it cost the life of the Saxon Waltheof , 
son of Si ward the old earl of Northumbria. And again in 1085, 
Canute, king of Denmark, prepared an expedition of 1,000 
vessels to obtain possession of England ; William's good fortune 
again prevailed, though it put him to the expense of supporting 
a large army of mercenaries to protect his new dominions. 

III. Results of the Norman Conquest. 

Briefly stated, the consequences were — the introduction of a 
foreign dynasty and nobility ; the transfer, either by grant or 
force, of nearly all the lands in the kingdom, thereby greatly 
enriching the Norman soldiers, and reducing the principal 
Saxons to indigence ; a strife of races which continued for 
nearly two hundred years ; the perfection of the feudal system, 
with its train of services and incidents ; the increase of papa} 
influence, and the power of the clerical estate, by the erection of 
separate courts for ecclesiastical causes ; the opening up of new 
relations with the Continent, thus bringing England into contact 
with a higher civilisation, and extending our commercial transac 



So OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

cions : and securing to England exemption from further Danish 
invasions. M England presented the singular spectacle of a 
native population with a foreign sovereign, a foreign hierarchy, 
and a foreign nobility — every earl and every powerful vassal of 
the crown was a Norman. Each of these, to guard against the 
disaffection of the natives, naturally surrounded himself with 
foreigners, who alone were the objects of his favour and patron- 
age ; and thus almost all who aspired to the rank of gentlemen, 
all who possessed either wealth or authority, were also Normans 
Individuals who in their own country had been poor and un- 
known, saw themselves unexpectedly elevated in the scale oi 
society ; they were astonished at their own good fortunes ; and 
generally displayed in their conduct all the arrogance of newly 
acquired power." 

IV. Wars in France- 

On William's invasion of England, his eldest son Robert waa 
invested with the nominal government of Normandy, which 
duchy he afterwards claimed as his right, and was refused. This 
made him discontented, and the indignities heaped upon him by 
his brothers William and Henry increased it. He attempted to 
seize Rouen, and supported by several Norman barons, declared 
war against his father ; this movement ended in failure, and 
Robert became a refugee for five years. The king of France 
t hen gave him the castle of Gerberoi, from which he ravaged 
his father's dominions. William in 1079 besieged the castle, 
and coming into actual combat with his son, w T as unhorsed and 
wounded ; the siege was raised, and by the influence of Matilda 
the queen, a reconciliation effected. 

Philip I. was in dispute with William for thepossession of the 
city of Mantes, he had in fact seized it, and negotiations were 
opened for its restoration. But a coarse jest, which Philip made 
on William's delay, so stung the English king that he entered 
the French territory and took Mantes. The city was fired, and 
William's horse treading on the hot embers became restive, the 
King thereby received a bruise which ended in fever and death. 
While on his death-bed, he bequeathed Normandy to Robert, 
recommended William to Lanfranc the primate, as successor to 
the English throne, and gave to Henry 5000 pounds of silver. 

Miscellaneous Facts. One of the results growing out of the 
Norman Conquest, was the alterations which took place in the tenure 
of land. To the student of English history, this subject is of the first 
importance, it appears on nearly every page of our annals down to the 
abolition of feudal tenures in Charles II., so that even an elementary 
knowledge of our history cannot be obtained, without understanding 
something of what feudalism wa*. 



37 

WILLIAM I. 

The feudal system was one in which an estate called a feud or Jief, was 
granted on conditions, and not as an estate of absolute and independent 
ownership. It originated on the continent, and was not unknown in 
England during the later Saxon period, but it was only after the Con- 
quest that it was perfected. Between the lord who granted and the vassal 
who received, a special relationship was established ; the lord undertook 
to afford protection to his vassal, whilst the vassal put himseJf under the 
obligations of military service at his own expense, generally for 40 days 
in the year, also to defend the person and family of his lord, and to attend 
his lord's courts. 

The ceremonies in conferring a fief were three : — Homage, as an ex- 
pression of submission and devotedness, in consideration of lands held 
of the lord ; this was done bare-headed, ungirt, and kneeling, in which 
posture the promise of faithful service was made : — Fealty, or the con- 
firmation of the promise by an oath : — Investment, or the actual convey- 
ance of the lands constituting the fief. Investiture was of two kinds ; 
proper, or the actual putting in possession on the ground, which in 
English law is called " livery of seisin ; " and improper or symbolical, by 
which the lands were conveyed by the delivery of a wand, a piece of 
turf, a branch of a tree, &c. 

Besides the claim of fealty and service, the lord derived other advan- 
tages fivm an estate granted in fief. These advantages are known as 
Feudal Incidents — such were aids, reliefs, primer seisin, wardships, 
marriage, fines, and escheats. A relief was a money or other payment 
made by one of full age, taking a fief by descent. As the relief was 
mostly uncertain in its amount, it led to one of the greatest abuses of 
feudalism ; the Magna Charta settled the amount at about one-fourth of 
the annual value of the estate. Aids were money payments to the lord 
on special occasions ; by Magna Charta they were reduced to three — 
ransoming the lord's person, knighting his eldest son, and marrying his 
eldest v^aughter. By Edward I., the two latter were fixed at twenty 
shillings, the former from its nature could not be determined beforehand. 
These feudal aids originated the modern system of taxation. Primer 
seisin, or first fruits, was a payment made only by tenants in capite, of 
one year's profits of the land, and were in addition to the relief. Ward- 
ship, or guardianship in chivalry, gave to the lord the right to hold the 
persons and lands of minors, without giving any account of the profits. 
This right was greatly abused down to the time of the Stuarts. Marriage, 
or the right of the lord to dispose of his wards in marriage; if they re- 
fused, he claimed as much as any one would give for the marriage, which 
was in proportion to the value of the estate, and double if they married 
without his consent. A Fine was a payment made to obtain the lord's 
ixmsent to alienate the estate. The king's tenants by 1 Edw. III., were 
to pay one-third of the annual value. Fscheat was the return of the 
estate to the lord of the fee, when his vassal died without heirs, or was 
attainted for treason or felony. 

The Domesday Book was compiled fey order of the council which met 
at Gloucester (1085), that there might be a certain record of the tenure 
."jf the estates of the kingdom, and of the revenues due to the sovereign. 
J ustieiaries were appointed to travel through England, and register upon 
the oaths of the sheriff, lord of the manor, priest of the church, steward 
of the hundred, and th& bailiff with six villeins of the village — the extent 
af etieh estate ; its proprietors and tenure ; the quantity of meadow 



38 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

pasture, wood, and arable land; with the number of villeins, cattle, &o^ 
as they stood respectively in (1) the time of Edward the Confessor, (2) 
when granted by the Conqueror, (3) at the date of the survey This rev 
cord was completed in 1086, and still exists in the Chapter House at 
Westminster. 

With respect to the Curfew Bell, it is often stated that William com- 
pelled the people of England to put oat their fires and other lights, on 
the ringing of a bell at sunset in summer, and about eight in winter, as 
a mark of the servitude of a conquered people. But this ts a mistake, 
the curfew bell was a law of police which William had previously estab- 
lished in Normandy. The same law had a place in Scotland and in other 
European states, being considered necessary on account of the combust- 
ible material employed in the construction of houses, and the numerous 
fires in towns and villages. It was continued in England as a police 
regulation, till after the beginning of the 16th century ; in some parishes 
the curfew bell is rung at the present day. 

The formation of the Neto Iforent is usually accounted as one of the 
greatest of William's acts of oppression. Hume says, " He laid waste the 
country in Hampshire for an extent of thirty miles, expelled the in- 
nabitants from their houses, seized their property, even demolished 
churches and convents, and made the sufferers no compensation for the 
injury." A modern writer thinks this an exaggerated statement, for 
there had always been a forest in that district, probably a portion of the 
great forest of Andreade. " The only fair conclusion seems to be, that 
finding a rough and thinly peopled tract in the neighbourhood of the old 
royal seat of Winchester, one too, whose poor soil prevented its making 
any profitable return to the husbandman, the new king enlarged its 
bounds, and if here and there a few dwellings or a church opposed an 
obstacle to the design, we may suppose they were at once demolished." 

Chronicle. 1067, Battle Abbey founded by order of the Conqueror. 
1068, The curfew bell ordered to be rung. 1070, The Feudal system per- 
fected in England. 1073, Gregory VII, (Hildebrand) endeavours to 
establish the supremacy of the pope in Christendom. 1079, Formation 
of the New Forest. 1089, Tower of London founded. 1085, Domesday 
Book ordered to be compiled. 

WILLIAM IL 1087-1100. 

The Royal Family. William II. (1060—1100), the third son 
of the Conqueror, was surnamed Rufus from his ruddy complexion. 
Little is known of him before his coming to the throne, and what is 
known of him subsequently is discreditable. " He seems to have been 
a violent and tyrannical prince ; a perfidious, encroaching, and dan- 
gerous neighbour ; an unkind and ungenerous relative." His death 
is usually attributed to a chance arrow shot by Sir Walter Tyrrel, 
who is said to have made the best of his way out of the country, and 
to have travelled as a pilgrim to the Holy Land in expiation for shed- 
ding blood. But Tyrrel after his return, when he had nothing to 
fear from stating the truth, made oath that he did not see the king on 
the day of his death, nor was he indeed in that part of the forest. 
Some writers attribute his death to a premeditated act, growing out of 
the intense dislike which existed to so bad a king. William never 
married. 



CTILLIAM II. 



39 



I. Disputes with his Brother Robert. 

William, without waiting for the death of his father, hastened 
to England with a letter of recommendation to Lanfranc, who^ 
calling a council of prelates and barons, secured the election of 
the red king Odo, on account of his dislike to Lanfranc, headed 
a party in England in favour of duke Robert ; the castle of Ro- 
chester he entrusted to Eustace, count of Boulogne, while he 
Himself took post at Pevensey to await the arrival of the duke 
from Normandy. Robert was as usual too late in his movements, 
etnd the insurrection ended in the submission of a part, and the 
escape of the remainder out of the country. 

The indolent-character of Robert unfitted him to hold the reins 
of government, and his duchy soon became a scene of anarchy and 
violence. The barons garrisoned the castles with their own 
troops, and levied war on each other, and the duke by his im- 
providence was too poor to enter upon a contest with them. Of 
this confusion William took advantage in 1090 ; by means of 
bribes he obtained possession of the principal castles, and bought 
off the French king. By the influence of the barons who held 
lands both in Normandy and England, William consented to end 
this unnatural war on the following conditions, — that he should 
retain the Norman forts, giving to his brother an equivalent in 
England ; that Robert's friendf should receive back their estates; 
and that the survivor of the two brothers should unite Normandy 
with England. 

In 1091 the brothers united ^heir forces to besiege Henry in 
Mount St. Michael ; on its fall he was permitted to retire almost 
penniless to Brittany. Robert fared little better, for the king re- 
fused to fulfil the conditions of the treaty, and renewed the war 
against him in 1094. The contest ended this time in a way the 
least expected, for the duke, anxious to join the projected crusade, 
disposed of his duchy (1096) to his brother for five years, on re- 
ceiving the sum of 10,000 marks. 

II. Invasions by the Scotch and Welsh. 

In the absence of William in Normandy, Malcolm ravaged the 
northern counties y the king on his return made the Scots submit, 
and Malcolm do him homage. Anew quarrel led toMalcolrcTa 
being summoned to Gloucester, to do homage in presence of the 
English barons ; this he refused, and bringing his troops into 
Northumberland, he wasted it with fire and sword. He was, how- 
ever Barprised by Robert Mowbray and slain, together witb 



40 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTOiiY 

Edward his eldest son ; both bodies were buried atTynemouth j 
Margaret survived the intelligence but four days (1093). 

The Welsh in 1094 were in general insurrection, the NormaL 
garrisons were either slaughtered or compelled to retreat into 
England, and the border districts ravaged. William moved a 
force against them, though only to be attacked on his flanks and 
rear ; in this way the royal forces were wasted without result, 
and after two or three attempts the king was forced to be satisfied 
with increasing the border castles. 

III. Rapacity of the King. 

William's prodigality knew no bounds, and his minister Ralph 
Flambard, a Norman ecclesiastic, was famous for his devices to 
obtain money. New offences were created to multiply fines, 
punishments commuted for pecuniary payments, and a new sur- 
vey ordered, to raise additional money from lands. Another plan 
was that of obtaining for the crown the revenues of vacant pre- 
lacies and abbeys ; their estates were let out to farm by public 
auction, and in some cases so held for several years, and only 
then granted to a new prelate on his paying the full value of the 
preferment. The king at his death had in his hands one arch- 
bishopric, four bishoprics, and eleven abbeys, all of which had 
been let out to farm. This conduct to the church w T as one ground 
t)f the quarrel between the king and Anselm the new primate. 
For four years William had kept the see of Canterbury, and when 
it was forced upon Anselm, the tenants were still required to pay 
their rents into the king's exchequer, and yet the king expected 
the primate to pay handsomely for his promotion. This matter 
and the quarrel growing out of the investiture dispute, induced 
Anselm to retire from the kingdom. 

Miscellaneous Facts. In this reign commenced the Crusades. 
The Turks had lately (1076) come into possession of Palestine, and 
what with their barbarity and the unsettled character of the govern 
ment, Christian pilgrims could no longer visit the holy places without 
exposure to insult, robbery, and extortion. Returning to Europe, 
the pilgrims made loud complaints, and Peter the Hermit, one of the 
eufferers, preached up a crusade against the infidels. Pope Urban IE. 
tanctioned the movement, and at meetings at Plaeentia and Clare- 
wont (1095) obtained the consent of the assembled multitudes. The 

{irst crusade (1096) was undertaken by an undisciplined rubble, 
leaded by Peter the Hermit and Walter the Penniless. The real 
chivalry of Europe moved subsequently, and when mustered on the 
plains of Bithynia, numbered 100,000 knights and 600,000 armed men, 
under Godirey of Bouillon, Robert of Normandy, and others. Antioch 
was taken after a siege of eight months. Jerusalem afterwards fell, 
and three days were *pent in the unchristian \rork of slaughtering 



HENRY I. 41 

70,000 Moslems; Godfrey was now (1099) elected king of the Latin 
kingdom of Jerusalem. 

Chronicle. 1097, A stone bridge commenced at London. 1098, 
Westminster Hall erected by the king for his banqueting chamber. 
1100, A part of what had been Godwin's estate overflowed by the seaj 
now known as the Goodwin Sands, a place full of peril to mariners. 

HENRY I 1100-1135. 

Royal Family. Henry I. (1068 — 1135), the youngest son of the 
Conqueror, was born at Selby, in Yorkshire; his education in book- 
lore being more extensive than was usual at that period, obtained for 
him the surname of Beauclerk, or Scholar. In natural abilities he 
was superior to his brothers, and their jealousy of him led to his being 
an exile for a time. His reign was one of continuous trouble, and 
came to a close at Rouen by eating to excess of lampreys; his body 
was brought to England and interred at Reading, in an abbey of his 
own foundation. Detestable for his profligacy and ambition, Henry 
has nevertheless received praise for opening the way for " the refor- 
mation of the law and the constitution by his re-establishment, partial 
as it was, of the Saxon laws, and by his charter, the example of that 
series of subsequent royal concessions, the same in form, though 
much more extended in amount, which lie at the foundation of the 
national liberties." 

The first consort of Henry was Matilda (1079 — 1118), daughter of 
the Saxon Margaret an'd Malcolm of Scotland, and the only princess 
of that kingdom who ever shared the throne of England. After the 
death of her parents in 1093 she was removed to England, and placed 
in the nunnery of Romsey, of which Christina, her mother's sister, 
was abbess. MaMlda is highly spoken of, on account of her strict 
attention to the duties of religion. Her political influence in the 
kingdom was considerable, and her post as regent, during the long 
absence of Henry in Normandy, gave her the power to proteot the 
Saxons and their families from Norman insults. 

The second consort of Henry was Adelicia, daughter of Godfrey, 
duke of Brabant. At her marriage in 1121 she was in her eighteenth 
year; tho age and sour temper of Henry prevented her married life 
being an agreeable one. After a short widowhood she roamed 
D' Aldine", the king's cup-bearer, and resided mostly at Arundel 
Castle, at which place she received the empress Matilda in the reign 
of Stephen. With the consent of her husband, Adelicia retired to a 
convent in Flanders, where she resided till her death. 

The children of Henry were — William, drowned in 1120; and 
Maud or Matilda, who married (1) Henry V., Emperor of Germanjr, 
(2) Geoffrey Plantagenet, earl of Anjou, of which marriage cam? 
Henry II. of England. 

I. Robert despoiled of his Kingdom and Duchy. 

The right of the crown was in Robert both by seniority and 
treaty, but as he was not on the spot Henry became king. At 
first he was more popular than the preceding Norman kings, foi 
he was a native of England ; he married Matilda, the niece of 
Edgar Atheling ; he recalled Anselm.and he granted a charter of 

l> 



42 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

liberties. Robert, in the year after the accession, landed a force 
at Portsmouth, intending to enforce his right to the crown ; but 
Anselm contrived a negotiation by which the duke agreed tc 
resign his claim to England for 3,000 marks a year,andHenry on 
his pact to cede the castles he held in Normandy, and to pardon 
those who had favoured his brother's cause. But Henry proved 
faithless, and proceeding to punish Robert's adherents, the duke 
came over to beg that his friends might be mercifully dealt with ; 
but he found his own liberty endangered, and was glad to get 
safe out of the kingdom, though to do so he had to resign his 
annual pension. That Robert shortly after gave an asylum to 
some of his brother's refractory barons afforded a reasonable 
pretext for Henry to invade Normandy. A bloody battle fought 
before the walls of Tenchebrai (1106) ended in the unfortunate 
duke, Edgar Atheling, and others becoming prisoners ; Roberr 
was sent to England and confined till his death, which took place 
in Cardiff Castle (1135). When the duke was made a prisoner 
his son found a refuge in Flanders, of which province William 
Fitz-Robert became duke, but almost immediately afterwards re- 
ceived a wound, which ended in death (1128), to the great joy of 
Henry, who had found in the son a more powerful adversary than 
ir the father. 

II. Prince William drowned. 1120 

Henry had obtained possessionof Normandy, but a curse seemed 
to rest upon it, for disturbances within and constant attacks from 
without compelled the king to spend much of his time in the 
duchy. One of his most troublesome neighbours was Louis VI. t 
who espoused the cause of Robert's son, and was indeed ready to 
do anything to distress the king of England. But he was severely 
beaten at the battle of Brenville (1119), upon which the pope 
appeared as a mediator, and Louis consented to receive the 
homage of William, Henry's son, instead of that of his father. 
As all opposition seemed now at an end, Henry pet out for 
England, from which he had been absent four years. His son was 
to follow in the "White Ship." The prince with his half-brother 
Richard, and his half-sister Adela, and a host of nobles ai.d 
knights embarked and set sail, though not before most of the 
party had become intoxicated. In a little while the ship was 
wrecked upon a ledge of rocks on the Norman coast, and of 300 
on board, only one survived to tell the tale. This proved a heavy 
dIow to the king, for his only remaining heir was a daughter. Ho 
at one© proposed Maud as his successor ; the barons, however, 
much disliked the idea of female government. But by moans of 
bribes the more powerful opponent* were won over u this schemo, 



HENRY L 43 

and the others made little scruple about giving an oath whic» 
could easily be set aside. 

III. Settlement of the Investiture Dispute. 1106. 

It had been an early custom for the metropolitan, on the con- 
secration of a bishop, to place in his hands a ring and crosier, af 
symbols of his spiritual relation to the church, and his pastoral 
duties. There was also in connection with the feudal system, a 
symbolical investiture of land, by putting into the hand of the 
grantee a sceptre or staff — this was the lay investiture, the 
former was purely ecclesiastical. Charlemagne adopted the 
practice of granting to prelates both kinds of investiture, and his 
example was followed till the pontificate of Gregory VII. This 
pontiff by an edict (1074) forbade the practice, and issued a 
formal anathema against any prince giving, or prelate receiving, 
investiture after the mode condemned. The princes of Christen- 
dom were not forward to give up what they conceived to be an 
important right, and it was partly in connection with this 
question of investiture that Anselm had quarrelled with Ruf us ; 
when he was recalled on the accession of Henry, he yet held 
out against lay investiture. The king, as soon as he thought 
himself in safe possession of the throne, attempted to compel 
the bishop to receive investiture from him, upon which the 
primate again left the kingdom to obtain from the pope some 
concessions. Three years later (1106) the dispute ended in a 
compromise between Henry and Paschal II. ; the king retaining 
the right of granting investiture of the temporality, having first 
received fealty and homage, whilst the investiture by ring and 
crosier was to return to the church. By this arrangement the 
king retained the right of nominating bishops and abbots. 

Miscellaneous Facts. The charter of Henry I. is important, if 
only to show what were the grievances of the nation in the two preceding 
reigns. It promised — that the king would restore to the church its im- 
munities, would neither sell nor let to farm vacant benefices, nor retain 
them in bis own possession, nor tallage their tenants. That the king 
tvould grant to his tenants in capite, and they were to grant to their 
tenants, to dispose by will of their personal property ; to dispose of their 
females in marriage without fee ; to be fined tor offences according to 
the Saxon laws, and not to be placed at the king's mercy ; to pay cus- 
tomary reliefs for their lands, and not arbitrary exactions ; that heiresses 
and widows be not forced to marry, and that wardships of minors anc 
their lands De committed to the nearest relatives : That the nation be 
governed by the laws of Edward the Confessor, as amended by the Con- 
queror ; that no money be levied, but as in Saxon times ; and that the 
demesne lands of all his military tenants, be exempted from taxes, 
burdens. &c. 

Chronicle. 1118, Military and religious order of Knights 
Templars instituted at Jerusalem. 1121, First Arabian horse introduced 



£* OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

into Britain. 1124, The Hospitallers of Jerusalem became a military 
tody, called the Knights of St. John. 

STEPHEN. 1135-1154. 

Pjtal Family. Stephen (1105 — 1154) was the third son of Stephen 
earl of Blois, by Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror. At ar 
early age he was brought to this country by his uncle Henry, who gave 
him many valuable estates. His long residence in England enabled him 
to form, during the lifetime of his uncle, a powerful party among the 
clergy and nobility, which paved his way to the throne. Dying suddenly 
er Dover, or Canterbury, he was buried by the side of his wife in the 
abbey at Faversham. Stephen was courteous alike to high and low, 
prompt in action and generous to his enemies, but he is chargeable with 
forget! ulness of his oath to support the cause of his patron's daughter, 
and with neglecting to execute justice, whereby his subjects suffered the 
greatest miseries. 

The consort of Stephen was Matilda (1107 — 1151), daughter of Eustace, 
count of Boulogne. When Stephen fell into the hands of his enemies 
at Lincoln, she was in France negotiating the marriage of her son 
Eustace; on her return, she sought in person the liberty of her husband, 
but without success. Matilda then headed the Londoners and besieged 
the empress in Winchester, till she was glad to escape as a fugitive. At 
the peace, she founded the hospital of St, Catherine by the Tower, and, 
us some say, the royal abbey at Favert>ham. The virtues of Matilda were 
many, among which her piety and conjugal affection stood conspicuous. 

The children of Stephen were :— Eustace, died in 1153: William, 
earl of Surrey : and Mary, who married Matthew, count of Flandera. 

I. Usurpation of the Throne. 

At the death of Henry, though Stephen had sworn to support 
the cause of Matilda, he put in a claim to the throne, depending 
on the fact of his being the most popular noble in England ; 
the great influence of his brother Henry, bishop of Winchester ; 
and the general aversion felt, both in England and Normandy, 
to a female sovereign. At his coronation he promised — to 
maintain the immunities of the Church, to enlarge the liberties 
of laymen, to put down all injustice and exaction, to allow his 
barons to build such castles as were necessary for their own 
security, to give up all the forests formed by his predecessors, 
and to observe the good and ancient laws and just customs. 
Meanwhile, Matilda had secured some of the towns in Norman- 
dy, but the licentious mercenaries of her husband Geoffrey 
offended the Normans, who thereupon drove them all out of 
the country. The Norman barons kept up their connection 
with England, but for years the duchy was torn by contending 
factions, till eventually Geoffrey reduced it to acknowledge the 
withont v of his wife Matilda. 



STEPHEN. 45 

II. The Scotch invade England. 

At home, David of Scotland was the first to move in favour of 
Matilda. After reducing Carlisle, Alnwick, and Newcastle, he 
was met by Stephen, near Durham (1136) ; instead of a battle, 
the two sovereigns concluded a peace, by which Henry, prince of 
Scotland, received Carlisle, Doucaster,and Huntingdon, on doing 
homage to the English king. In 1138, David renewed the war, 
on the ground that Stephen had not given him the earldom of 
Northumberland, as he had promised. Two inroads, made in the 
early part of the year, were marked by savage barbarity. Old 
and young were slaughtered, and only females of birth and beauty 
spared. Tnese were stript of their clothing, bound with thongs, 
and driven into Scotland, where they were employed as slaves. 
Making a third inroad, the Scots reached Yorkshire ; thereupon 
Thurstan the archbishop prevailed upon the barons to call out 
their vassals. To arouse the religious feelings of the district a 
sacred standard wa3 erected upon the framework of a carriage 
at the top of the pole was a consecrated host, and below floatea 
the banners of three Saxon saints. The battle of the Standard, 
was fought near Northallerton ; after a fierce contest the Scots 
gave way, losing in the fight and subsequent flight 12,000 men. 
Another inroad in the followingyear came to nothing, on account 
of the interference of the papal legate ; Stephen was, however, 
obliged to yield Northumberland. 

III. Civil War. 1139-1145. 

Matilda landed in 1139 at Portsmouth with 140 knights, but 
her main dependence was on the character and influence of her 
half-brother, Robert of Gloucester. Whilst Robert was away in 
the west calling out his friends, Matilda became encircled in 
Arundel Castle ; here she must have been made prisoner but for 
the generosity of Stephen, who granted her a safe-conduct to join 
her brother. Many cities declared for the daughter of Henry, 
the barons, however, professed neutrality. Stephen himself was 
made aprisoner at Lincoln (1141), and committed a close prisoner 
to Bristol. Matilda became now the " Lady of England," and 
orders were issued for her coronation. This, however, never took 
place, for she alienated her friends by arrogance, inflamed her 
enemies by fines, and roused the Londoners by the imposition of 
a heavy tax, as apunishmentfor havingsupported Stephen. The 
city rose in arms, and the queen saved her liberty by a precipitous 
flight. Her fortune had avidently failed her ; at Winchester 
nearly all her friends were killed or made prisoners ; the king of 
Scotland redeemed himself, but Robert of Gloucester was com- 



4ft OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

nutted to prison, till an exchange was made which restored 
Stephen to liberty. With the release of Gloucester tier affairs 
improved, and for a time she ruled over the west, but the death 
of Robert in 1145 forced her to withdraw to Normandy. 

IV. The contest renewed by Prince Henry. 1152. 

In 1151, Stephen requested Theobald to crown his son Eustace. 
This the primate refused to do, on the ground that the king, being 
ausurper,had no right to transfer the crown to another. This so 
enraged the king that Theobald found it necessary to retire to 
the Continent. Henry, the son of Matilda, being now a power- 
ful prince, took up his own quarrel. Landing at Wareham, he 
was joined by the friends of his family ; no battle was fought, 
for Eustace having just died, Stephen consented to treat. The 
following terms were agreed upon (1153) : — that Stephen should 
adopt Henry as his son, and heir to the kingdom of England ; 
that Stephen's son William should be confirmed in all the lands 
and honours possessed by his father before he became king ; that 
the earls and barons of both parties should do homage to the 
leader of their opponents ; that the inhabitants of boroughs 
and the garrisons of castles should do fealty to Henry ; that 
tiie commanders of the principal fortresses should give hostages 
to Henry ; and that the bishops and abbots should swear fealty 
to Henry, and engage to enforce the treaty by ecclesiastical 
censures. The year following Stephen died. 

Miscellaneous Facts. The condition of England during this 
reign was the worst in our entire history, with the exception of the 
periods of Danish invasions. Baronial castles covered the country, 
even abbeys were converted into fortresses, and the occupiers, secure 
w.thin their walls and moats, set at defiance the restraints of law and 
justice. The Saxon Chronicle says — " They greatly oppressed the 
wretched people by making them work at these castles, and when the 
castles were finished, they filled them with devils and evil men. Then 
they took those whom they suspected to have any goods, by night and 
by day, seizing both men and women, and they put them in prison 
tor their gold and silver, and tortured them with pains unspeakable, 
tor never were any martyrs tormented as these were. They hung 
eome up by the feet, and smoked them with foul smoke; some by 
their thumbs, or by the head, and they hung burning things on their 
feet. They put a knotted string about their heads, and twisted it till 
it went into the brain. They put them into dungeons wherein were 
adders and snakes and toads, and thus wore them out. Some they 
put into the crucet-house, that is, into a chest that was short and 
narrow, and not deep, and they put sharp stones in it, and crushed 
the man therein so that they broke all his limbs. Then was corn 
dear, and cheese, and butter, for there was none in the land — wretched 
roenMarved with hunger — 6ome lived on alms \* ho had been erewiiiU 
rich ivxne fl«*d the country— «ievcr was then* more misery, and never 



THE NOKMAN PBKIOD. 47 

heathen acteo worse than these. The earth bare no corn, you might as 
well have tilled the sea, for the land was all ruined by such deeds, and 
it was said openly that Christ and all his saints slept." 

Towards the end of the reign of Stephen, Vacarius, a lawyer of 
Bologna, came over to England and read lectures at Oxford, on the canon 
and civil law. The canon law is a body of Roman ecclesiastical law, 
relating to such matters as the church has, or pretends to have, the 
proper jurisdiction over; and compiled from the opinions of the ancient 
Latin fathers, the decrees of general councils, and the decretal opistlea 
and bulls of the holy see. By the civil law is generally understood the 
civil or municipal law of the Roman empire, as comprised in the In- 
stitutes, the Code, the Digest of the emperor Justinian, and the Novel 
Constitutions of himself and successors. 

Chronicle. 1146, Tilbury fort erected. 1150, The canon law com » 
piled by Gratian, a monk of Tuscany. The study of the civil law re- 
vived about the same time. 

Social Life in the Norman Period. 

1. Food. Though a rude plenty was found in the baronial hall, some- 
times with much gold and silver plate, the food was often unpalatable, 
and the mode of eating undignified; for the fingers of the company were 
thrust into the dishes, or employed in tearing the flesh into convenient 
morsels. The Normans did not eat such quantities as the Saxons, but 
were more particular and choice in style, so that cookery became gradually 
improved. Wheaten bread was eaten only by the higher classes, but 
a writer says that even at court, bread was set out not kneaded or leav- 
ened, like lead, full of brand and unbaked. Neither war the wine much 
too boast of, for it is described as thick, greasy, and tasting of pitch, and 
sometimes so full of dregs, that the nobles drank with their eyes shut 
and teeth closed. The Normans gave us a new set of terms for flesh 
meat, so that whilst animals in the hands of the Saxon hind were called 
oxen, sheep, swine, &c, when killed for the lord's table, they became beef, 
mutton, pork, &c. The common people had as before, bread made of 
rye, oats, and barley, their meat swine's flesh, and drink sour beer oi 
cider. 

2. Clothing. The males usually Trove the tunic, cloak, long tight 
hose, and shoes or short boots ; gradually the shoes became pointed and, 
increasing in length, were turned up, and rolled in imitation of scorpion's 
toils or ram's horns ; at one period these appendages were so long as to 
require to be supported by a chain from the knee. In Henry I. the 
sleeves of the tunic became long enough to cover, and hung far below, 
the hand ; the mantles also grew in length, but Henry II. reintroduced 
the short oloak, and hence was called Curtmantle. One peculiarity of 
the Normans was that of shaving the back of the head ; this soon grew 
into disuse after the Conquest and, in imitation of the Saxon nobles, they 
cultivated long hair and beards. This gave ofFence to the clergy, who 
in their sermons constantly recommended the use of razor and scissors ; 
it is told of a bishop that, after preaching before Henry I., he cropped 
the king and the whole congregation. 

Females dressad much as the Saxons had done, only they called the 
pown a robe, and the veil a couvre-chef, from which we get our word 
kerchief. The ladies, like the other sex, indulged in long bell-sleeves, 



48 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

farming at last such deep loops, that they were actually knotted to keep 
them off the ground. The couvre-chef grew and was knotted in tha 
same way. The hair was worn long and plaited in two pigtail braids ; 
subsequently it was concealed by the kerchief or wimple which, being 
brought together under the chin, gave all the females the appearance of 
nuns. 

3. Dwellings. In all good buildings the Norman style of archi- 
tecture became general. Coming, as the Normans did, into a con- 
quered country, they dwelt mostly in strongholds, with immensely 
thick walls, and but few windows except in upper storeys. As the 
Normans cared but little for indoor life, no great additions were made 
in the shape of furniture. In the hall, or principal apartment, stood a 
massive table with benches, which was really the chief article to ba 
found in the house. Carpets there were none, litter of straw or rushes 
supplied their place ; some estates were held on the tenure of supplying 
their lord's hall with fresh litter. The lady's bed chamber was the best 
furnished, and but little was found there — a crib with straw bed, a 
cupboard, and walls partially covered with tapestry. In palaces the 
common sleeping place was a bench, or the floor with a rug spread upon 
it. A bell-shaped utensil, known as the couvre-feu was to be found in 
most houses, lor the purpose of smothering the fire when necessary, 
either by day or night. The houses of the poor remained but rude 
cabins, and contained nothing in the way of fittings; a hearth, iron- 
pot, pitcher, and platter being nearly all that was to be found within. 

4. Amusements. The Normans were fond of out-door sports, 
partly because they had no comforts at home, their castles or fortified 
houses furnishing them only with defence and lodgings. Out of door* 
their chief amusements were the tournament, or mock-fight, and hunt- 
ing. The first Norman kings forbade the tournament, tearing to trust 
large numbers together with arms, but in the reign of Stephen the 
prohibition was disregarded, and they were probably used as occasions 
to make arrangements against him. By Henry II. they were again 
put down, and those who desired to show their feats of arms went to 
the Continent to do so. When the game laws became less restrictive, 
hunting was followed pretty generally, even the citizens of London had 
several chases, in which they indulged in this sport. But then hunting 
at that time was something more than an amusement, for when the very 
highest lived on salt meat nine months in the year, kings and nobles did 
not disdain a rabbit hunt when other game was scarce, so that a meal 
of fresh meat was procured. Cock-fighting was then confined to 
children, who took to school on Shrove-Tuesday a game bird, and for 
that day the schoolroom became a cockpit. 

Indoors they were amused by rude dramatic exhibitions, founded on 
romantic or passing events, done by itinerating performers. These per- 
formances, both in language and manner of acting, were in accordance 
with the licentious character of the age; the clergy therefore endeavoured 
to supersede them by the introduction of the religious drama. Hence 
the origin, at a subsequent period, of miracle and mystery plays; the 
former founded on miracles wrought by conjurors, the latter on Scripture 
u. cider ts. 



HENRY II. 49 



THE PLANTAGENET KINGS. 

Henry II, 1154—1189. Edward I., 1272—1307. 

Richard I., 1189—1199. Edward II., 1307—1327, 

John, 1199—1216. Edward III., 1327—1377 

Henry III., 1216—1272. Richard II., 1377—1399, 

HENRY II. 1154-1189. 

Royal Family. Henry II. (1133 — 1189), sometimes styled Fitz- 
Empress, was the eldest son of Geoffrey PJantagenet, earl of Anjou, 
and Matilda, daughter of Henry I. of England. The family name of 
Plantagenet was first given to the grandfather of Geoffrey, on account 
of his wearing in his cap a sprig of broom — in French plante genet. 
After the reduction of Normandy by his father, Henry was acknow- 
ledged by the principal nobility as their legitimate duke. In 1142 
he came over to England with Robert of Gloucester, and resided in 
Bristol Castle, his education being superintended by his uncle the earl, 
who was distinguished for his scholarship. His marriage (1151) with 
Eleanor put him in possession of Poitou and Guienne, and enabled 
him to insist upon his right to the English crown. Henry was " a 
mixture of all qualities, good and bad, naturally arising from a strong 
intellect, a strong will, and stfong passions." His ambition was great, 
and he was little scrupulous a*bout the means employed to secure his 
ends, and yet he was not always vindictive, neither was he incapable 
of generous feelings. 

The consort of Henry was Eleanor, daughter of William, duke of 
Aquitaine. She married Louis VII., her first husband, in 1137 ; ten 
years afterwards she went with him to the crusades, and by her free- 
dom of manners gave matter for scandal, and then for divorce. 
Within six weeks she married Henry Plantagenet. On his part it 
was a marriage of policy, and Eleanor was not slow to discover that 
she had no place in her husband's affections, neither was she without 
spirit to resent it. Hence the story of Rosamond Clifford and 
Woodstock bower. Though doubt rests on this story, there can be 
none about her inciting her sons to rebel against their father. Henry 
found out the secret, and taking advantage of her attempt to escape 
into France, imprisoned her till his death. During the reign of 
Richard she sought to keep John true to his allegiance, and when 
the captivity of the crusading king became known, spared no pains to 
obtain his release. Eleanor continued to figure as a public character 
till 1202, she then took the veil and died two years after, at Fontevraud, 
being then more than eighty years of age, and much improved by the 
adversities through which she had passed. 

The children of Henry were, — Henry, died 1183 ; Richard, who 
became king ; Geoffrey, killed at a tournament (1186), leaving two child- 
ten, Arthur and Eleanor; John, who became king; Matilda married 
Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony, whose son William was the first duke 
of Brunswick, and hence ancestor to the present royal family of 
England; Eleanor married Alphonso of Castile; and Joan marrhd 
William of Sicily. 



jO OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

I. Henry's extensive Dominions. 
The possessions of Henry were of the most ample character. 
By the treaty with Stephen he possessed England; he inherited 
Anjou and Touraine from his father; from his mother, Maine and 
the duchy of Normandy; by his marriage with Eleanor, Guienne, 
Poitou, Saintonge, Auvergne, Perigord, Angoumois, and the 
Limousin, besides a claim to Nantes and Toulouse. Nantes was 
obtained through the skilful diplomacy of the celebrated Becket; 
Toulouse led to a war with Louis in 1159, to carry on which a 
mercenary force was employed, and paid for by a scutage of 50s. 
on each knight's fee. In this expedition none appeared more 
conspicuous than Becket, who headed 700 knights all in his 
own pay. Toulouse might have been taken, but it was thought 
better to end the dispute by compromise. Henry came also 
into possession of Brittany, for his son Geoffrey married the 
daughter of the earl, on whose death the king, as guardian, put 
himself in possession. About one-half of France was uoac 
held by the English king. 

II Constitutions of Clarendon. 

From the time of Dunstan, the power of the clerical estate had 
been increasing, and greatly so since the Conquest, till by means 
of their own courts the ecclesiastics had nearly freed themselves 
from all ordinary restraints. The result was, the clergy became 
notorious for criminal offences, for which however thc} T could 
not be brought to justice ; spiritual penalties were inflicted, but 
for these they cared not. Henry proposed to place the church- 
men under restraint, and as Becket had always shown himself a 
ready supporter of his sovereign's views, it was thought that his 
daring energy would insure to the scheme an undoubted success. 
Becket after some demur consented to take the primacy (1162), 
but from the day of his installation he became a changed man, 
and devoting himself wholly to the duties of his new office, 
resigned the chancellorship. But most offensive was the rapport 
he gave to those principles which his royal master desired to 
overthrow. A clergyman having committed offences of tliG 
highest order, Henry demanded that the offender should be tried 
before a lay tribunal. To this Becket objected and gave pro- 
tection to the criminal, thereupon the king summoned the pre- 
lates, first at Westminster and then at Clarendon. At the latter 
place were passed several laws, known as the Constitutions of 
Clarendon (1104) ; they were sixteen in number, and provided — 

That ecclesiastic* should no longer be protected by the ecclesiastical 
courts: That dignified clergy leave not the realm without the king's 
licence: That laymen be not proceeded against in bishops' courts, bv< 



HENRY II. 51 

<rv legal accusers: That the king's tenants be not excommunicated 
tior their lands placed under an interdict, without application first tc 
Cwe king : That appeals from the spiritual courts may be made to the 
k«*i£: That the dignified cleigy, who hold lands of the king m chief, 
fr-all perform all the rights and customs pertaining to their barony: 
'1'hat chattels forfeited to the king ought not to be protected ix> 
church-yards : That church dignitaries be elected in the king's chapel 
with the king's consent, and do homage and fealty before consecration 
And that villeins be not ordained without the consent of their lord 

Becket yielded at first a reluctant assent to the Constitutions 
and tnen repenting, suspended himself from the functions of his 
office till he should obtain from the pope absolution from his oath. 
jSubsequently he tried to engage the other bishops in a confederacy 
to maintain their privileges. This being more than could be 
endured, Henry entered upon a series of measures to crush the 
primate ; for a time no impression was mada, but ultimately 
Becket in alarm left the kingdom, to place himself under the 
protection of the pontiff. 

III. Assassination of Becket. 1170. 

After more than one attempt at reconciliation had failed, an 
agreement was come to, Henry promising to restore to Becket 
and his friends all the possessions which had been taken from 
them, while the primate, on his part, undertook to remove the 
sentence of excommunication against the king's ministers, and 
prevent the publication of an interdict. Becket, setting out on 
his way to England, had the audacity to send over before him a 
messenger, to excommunicate three bishops, who at the king's 
command, had recently crowned prince Henry. The excom- 
municated prelates made their way to Normandy to demand 
redress from the king, who, irritated by their representations, ex- 
claimed — " To what a miserable state am I reduced, when I can- 
not be at rest in my realm by reason of only one priest ; there is 
no one to deliver me out of my trouble." Four knights, under- 
standing the king to desire Becket's death, secretly left the court 
and hastening to Canterbury, murdered the refractory bishop in 
his own cathedral. With much difficulty, the king established 
his innocence of this crime. To obtain absolution for having 
spoken unadvisedly, he undertook to maintain 200 knights for a 
year in Palestine ; to serve in person against the infidels for three 
years, if the pope required it ; to restore all lands and possessions 
oelonging to the friends of the archbishop ; and to abolish such 
customs hostile to the liberties of the church as had beeu 
introduced since his accession. 



52 OUTLINES 0* ENGLISH HISTORY. 

IV. Conquest of Ireland. 

Daring the Norman period, the connexion between England 
and Ireland had been very slight, and that little was kept up by 
means of the Ostmen or Danes, who had possession of some of 
the seaports. Henry on his accession resolved to reduce Ireland, 
as indeed the Conqueror had intended, but full employment else- 
where prevented him. Adrian, the English pope, was requested 
to sanction this measure, as the king desired to extend the bounds 
of the church. By a bull (1155), a grant of Ireland was made 
to Henry, who was exhorted to extirpate vice, and make the 
natives pay yearly to the see of Rome a penny from every house. 
Continental affairs now came in the way, and the project was put 
aside for the present. Ireland at that time was not one kingdom, 
but five — Leinster, Desmond or South funster, Thomond or 
North Munster, Connaught, and Ulster, and these petty king- 
doms had always some quarrel on hand. There was one now, for 
Dermot, king of Leinster, had carried off the wife of Ruarc, a 
chief of Leitrim ; a confederacy of the princes compelled the 
offender to leave the country. He sought the presence of Henry, 
then in Aquitaine, and offered to hold his crown as the vassal of 
the English king, if he would assist him to regain it. Henry 
was not in circumstances to do so, but gave him permission to 
enlist adventurers in his service. 

Returning to Bristol, Dermot made terms with Strongbow, 
earl of Pembroke, offering to give the earl his daughter Eva, and 
declare him heir of Leinster. Others were engaged on liberal 
terms, and in 1169 a force of knights landed in Ireland, and 
restored Dermot to his kingdom. This prince now aimed at the 
subjugation of the other kingdoms, and with the assistance of 
Strongbow, Dublin was reduced (1170) ; further proceedings 
were stayed by an order from Henry that all his subjects should 
return. Henry was jealous of their success, and Strongbow 
found it necessary to surrender all his possessions to the king, 
receiving back only such as his master chose to give, and these 
he was to hold as the king's tenant. Henry in person headed an 
expedition which landed at Waterford (1171) ; the neighbouring 
princes made their submission, and were astonished at the sump- 
tuous entertainments which their new sovereign gave them at 
Dublin, where he spent his Christmas. Before the king left in 
1172, the Irish bishops, in synod at Cashel, signed a formaJ 
recognition of Henry's authority. 

Although spoken of as a conquest, it should be understood, 
that Henry added nothing to what had been won by the adven- 
turers and that a part of their conquest was won baGk by the 



HENRY II. 53 

natives. In this way, whilst the kings of England were called 
lords of Ireland, their authority for centuries extended only to 
a limited district in the east, so far as might be controlled by 
Dublin and other fortified towns. 

V. Rebellion of Henry's Sons. 

Prompted by the vindictiveness of Eleanor, who sought to 
punish the infidelities of her husband, the sons of Henry at- 
tempted to snatch away portions of his dominions. Prince Henry 
demanded (1173) to be put in immediatepossessionof Normandy, 
Anjou, and Maine, and was backed by the kings of France and 
Scotland, and the earl of Flanders. Henry, having hired 20,000 
mercenaries, carried on a war against this confederacy, which 
included all his sons except John, with varying success, till in 
1174 it seemed as if he must submit to the overwhelming ar- 
rangements of his enemies. Depressed in spirit by reason of the 
rebellion of his children and the treachery of his barons, and not 
altogether superior to the superstition of the age, the king walked 
into Canterbury with bare and bleeding feet, and after being 
lashed on his naked shoulders by 80 ecclesiastics, spent the night 
by the side of Becket's tomb, in fasting and prayer. A fever 
followed, and before he recovered, the news reached him that 
William the Lion had been made prisoner near Alnwick. 
Within three weeks the Scots were out of the kingdom, and the 
barons had made their submission. Losing no time, Henry 
carried his army to Normandy, and met with such success that 
the confederates sued for peace. By the treaty of Falaise (1174), 
the Scotch king received his liberty on submitting to become 
Henry's vassal, and to give several fortresses in Scotland as 
security . 

After eight years respite, the sons of Henry again formed a 
confederacy against their father (1183), which ended in his being 
forced to accept from the French king humiliating conditions of 
peace (1189). Henry never held up his head again, and, being 
removed to Chinon, died it a raging fever, exclaiming u Cursed 
be the day on which I was born, and cursed of God the children 
I leave behind me!" 

Miscellaneous Facts. The Norman Conquest did not abolish, 
though it modified, the judicial institutions of the Anglo- Saxons ; 
hence the manor, hundred, and county coarts continued to exercise 
their ancient powers, subject to the control of the king's court. This 
latter court (Curia Regis) was composed of the prelates, earls, barons, 
and principal officers of state ; ordinarily, its judges were the chief 
justiciary, chancellor, treasurer, and other great officers. For pur- 
poses of convenience this court became distributed, and thus were 
originated the Court of Exchequer in the reign of Henry I. th# 
Court of King's Bench in Henry II., and of Common Pleas in 



f>4 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HIST0R7. 

Kichard I. Out of the Exchequer Court grew the institution of 
Justices in ~Eyre, or itinerating justices, at first intended to check and 
punish the frauds committed at a distance from the court. At the 
council of .Northampton (1176), the kingdom was divided into six 
circuits, and three justices assigned to each, with instructions to do all 
things of right and ju&tice which belonged to the king, where the 
property was not great; to try malefactors cf all descriptions; and to 
take care of the profits of the crown, as escheats, wardships, and the 
like. 

Another institution, that of Trial by Grand Assize, had its origin 
in this reign. In cases of writ of right, or suit for the recovery of 
land, the tenant had now the alternative of deciding it by wager of 
battle, or by grand assize, that is, of being tried by four knights, 
summoned by the sheriff, and twelve more selected by them, forming 
altogether the 16 recognitors as they were called, by whose verdict the 
cause was determined. This was indeed the second stage of trial by 
jury, the first being that of jurators, or compurgators. The system of 
recognitors became the foundation of the present grand jury. This 
kind of trial was known as "trial by the country," and distinguished 
from " trial by peers," which was a trial by co-v^ssals. The second or 
petty jury came in about the time of Henry III., in connection wit> 
the abolition of ordeals. 

In consequence of the distance of some of Henry's possessions, tne 
feudal service for forty days was found useless in some cases. Wher 
an army was wanted in 1159, for service in the South of France, thft 
king dispensed with the personal service of his vassals, and accepted 
in its stead a pecuniary payment under the name of Scutage, or 
escuage. This arrangement was the first great blow to the feudal 
system. 

Chronicle. 1159, Introduction of scutage. 1160, Bills of ex- 
change invented by the Jews. 1176, England divided into circuits 
for the better administration of justice. 1177, Glass begins to be 
used in private houses; its use before had been confined to churches 
and palaces. 1181, The usa of the magnet in connection with navi- 
gation mentioned. 

RICHARD I. 1189-1199. 

Royal Family. Kichard I. (1157—1199) son of Henrv II., was, 

before his father's death, duke of Aquitaine, and one of the leading 
spirits in the unnatural rebellion against his father. For his courage 
and great muscular power, he was surnamed Coeur de Lion ; these 
qualiti* s made him a terror to his opponents in the East. Kichard was 
full of uncontrolled passion, carrying him at one time to extremes of 
violence and licentiousness, and at another to acts of extraordinary 
generosity and disinterestedness. But the evil seemed to outweigh the 
good, for as a son he was rebellious, as a husband faithless, and as a 
kins? thoroughly indifferent to the welfare of his subjects. 

The consort of Kichard was B'-rengaria, daughter of Sancho, king 
of Navarre. Her personal attractions won the heart of Kichard at 
Pampluna, but it was not till he was at Cyprus on his way to Pales- 
line, that the marriage took place. "When the crusade was over, she 
returned to Europe with the fleet, and was at Kome when tidings 
reached her oi l>*r hasbnad's imprisonment. For some tnue she lived 



RICHARD I 5£ 

apart from her husband, on account of his profligacy, but a reeoncilia 
tion was effected before his death. After that event she fixed hei 
residence at Mans, and at Espan in its neighbourhood built an abbey, 
to which she retired till her death about 1230. Berengaria is celebrated 
for her virtues, and for being queen of England, but never in England 
By Ins wife, Richard left no children. 

I. Preparations for the Crusade. 

No sooner was the coronation over than measures were taken 
for the government of the kingdom during the king's absence. 
Longchamp, bishop of Ely, and Pudsey, the justiciary, were ap- 
pointed regents. To provide funds, the crown lands, honours, 
and offices were put up for public sale ; presents extorted from 
the new dignitaries of the church ; the earldom of Northumber- 
land sold for £10,000 to the bishop of Durham ;. and for the same 
sum the right of superiority over the crown of Scotland. 
Richard had no shame in all this, but said he would sell London 
if he could find a chapman. But worse than all was the plunder 
and murder of the Jews, commenced on the day of the coronation, 
and carried on by the people for months in the provinces. At 
York, 500 of this despised race with their families took refuge 
in the castle, where, being besieged, they first cut the throats of 
their wives and children, and then stabbed themselves. 

IL Richard's Crusading Expedition. 

In the winter of 1190, Richard with his French allies wintered 
in Sicily, where a quanel grew up between him and Philip of 
France, because the English had pillaged the city of Messina, to 
revenge themselves on Tancred, king of Sicily, who had kept 
back the dower of Joan, sister of Richard, and wife of the late 
king; a further cause of offence was found in the English king's 
abandoning the sister of Philip in favour of Berengaria. Leav- 
ing Sicily, Richard reduced Cyprus on his way to Palestine 
When he arrived at Acre he found that city still holding out, 
though the siege had been going on for two years ; the opera* 
tions being now pressed on with vigour, the garrison in a short 
time accepted terms of capitulation. Philip now returned on 
the plea of ill health, having first sworn not to invade the 
dominions of the king of England. After performing several 
prodigies of valour, Richard was under the necessity of seeking 
an armistice, which was granted by Saladin, the leader of the 
enemy ; thus terminated a career of more glory to the English 
king than of advantage to the cause he had undertaken. 

The king set out for Europe in a single vessel, and landed at 
Aquileia, intending to travel in disguise, for he had offended 
Leopold, duke of Austria, by turning his soldiers out of Acre on 



56 0UTLINE8 OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

account of their indolence. In a little while Richard became a 
prisoner to the very man he most feared, and was by him sold for 
£60,000 to Henry the Emperor, by whom he was closely im- 
prisoned. The story of his discovery by Blondell, the minstrel, 
may be taken as a piece of romancing. All Christendom pro- 
fessed to be scandal 'oed by this ignominious treatment of the 
champion of the Cross. In 1193, Richard appeared before a 
Diet to clear himself of the following charges, — that in league 
with TaDcred he had opposed the right of the emperor to Sicily; 
that he had unjustly seized Cyprus ; that he had employed 
assassins to murder Conrad, marquis of Montferrat ; and that 
he had insulted the German nation at the siege of Acre. Hia 
defence moving the Diet, his chains were struck off, and a treaty 
opened for his ransom, which was set at 100,000 marks. In the 
early part of 1194 the king landed at Sandwich, after an absence 
of four years. 

III. England during Richard's Absence. 

Longchamp, after the departure of the king, soon became the 
sole regent, and, being papal legate, held the chief power in 
Church and State. He exercised a most despotic authority, 
oppressing laity and clergy by constant exactions, and thus 
filled the country with those who had cause to wish his removal. 
This prince John undertook, and Longcbanip by a council was 
condemned to lose his office of justiciary, and resign all the 
royal castles but three ; thereupon he escaped to the Continent. 
The power of the kingdom now fell to John and his party. No 
sooner was it known that Richard had been made a prisoner, 
than this unnatural brother entered into an arrangement with 
Philip of France, resigning to him a part of Normandy, and 
doing homage for the remainder of the English possessions on 
the Continent. In England, he raised an army to support his 
claim to the throne ; but the return of Richard was fatal to hia 
plans. At a council held at Nottingham, John was accused, 
but forgiven at the intercession of his mother. 

IV. War with France. 1194-1199. 

Philip had already obtained possession of several fortresses in 
Normandy, Richard therefore lost no time in crossing over with 
a force ; Philip being defeated at Fretval, withdrew from Nor- 
mandy, Touraine, and Maine. For want of funds, neither 
monarch carried on the war vigorously, but it was not till the 
French were again defeated at Gisors (1198) that a truce was 
concluded. While carrying on this war, England was subjected 
to ej actions by which it was reduced to poverty from sea to 60fe 



JOHN. 57 

So great was the discontent in London, that William Fitzosbert, 
or Longbeard, who became its mouthpiece, had at one time as 
many as 50,000 followers ready to obey his orders. His 
arrest and the interference of the Church prevented a general 
insurrection in the capital. 

VVithin a few months of the truce, Richard became involved 
in a petty quarrel with the viscount of Limoges, on whose 
estate a treasure had been discovered, a part of which he 
offered to satisfy the king, but he demanded the whole and met 
with a refusal. The king besieged him in his castle at Chalus. 
and received a wound in his shoulder of which he died. 

Miscellaneous Facts. At one time it was thought that a code of 
maritime laws, known as the Laws of Oleron, was compiled by 
Richard ; subsequent inquiries have shown that this was a mistake. It 
is, however, true that Richard did publish some severe regulations for the 

E reservation of order in his fleet. If any man killed another on board, 
e was to be fastened to the dead body, and so thrown overboard; if 
the crime were committed on shore, to be bound to the corpse, and 
buried with it. He who drew blood from another by a wilful blow, 
or struck at him with his weapon, was to lose his hand. A thief was to 
be shaven or shorn, boiling pitch poured on his head, and the feathers 
of a pillow shaken over it, as a mark whereby he might be known ; and 
he was then to be turned ashore on the first land at which the ship 
might touch. 

Cheonicle. 1190, The order of Teutonic Knights instituted in 
Palestine. 1198, At the battle of Gisors, the parole of the day given by 
Richard was " Bieu et mon droit " (God and my right) ; this became 
subsequently the motto of the royal arms of England. 

JOHN. 1199-1216. 

Royal Family. John (1166 — 1216), the youngest son of Henry ) I., 
was betrothed at the age of ten to Joan or Hadwisa, granddaughter 
of the celebrated Robert, earl of Gloucester. At an early age he held 
the nominal office of lord of Ireland, but not holding any fiefs as his 
brothers did, he obtained the name of Sansterre, or Lackland. 
Because of his youth, he was not involved in the earlier rebellions of 
Henry's sons, though later he hesitated not to make one of the rebels. 
His excessive cruelty is established by many facts; one must suffice 
here. Geoffrey, archdeacon of Norwich, because he had retired from 
nis seat of exchequer, was arrested and imprisoned ; to keep him 
warm, John sent a cope of lead,, in which he ordei id him to be 
wrapped so as to leave his head free; thus enclosed lie was starved 
to death. In every way John's conduct was execrable; he rebelled 
against a father whose favourite ' he was, he plotted to deprive his 
brother of his dominions, he procured the death of his nephew, he lost 
the nourishing provinces of France, he subjected England to the see 
of Rome, and in addition he inflicted the deepest disgrace on many 
families by his licentiousness, and ravaged large districts of his own 
dominions. 

The consort of John k'&s Isabella (1185 — 1246), daughter of Ajmcr, 



08 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH H1S.0UY. 

eount of Angouleme. In early life she had been espoused to Hugfh 
count la Marcbe, who being robbed of h's betrothed, contributed to the 
loss of Normandy. John and Isabella did not agree, and for three 
years he confined her in a chamber of Gloucester Abbey. After John's 
deata she retired to her native city, and married her former lover. 
Her >econd marriage was also unhappy, she became depraved, and wai 
ultimately compelled to assume the veil. 

The children of John were : Jlenry, who became king ; Richard, earl 
of Cornwall, elected king of the Romans (1257) ; Joan, married 
Alexander II. of Scotland : Eleanor, married (1) William, earl of Pem^ 
broke ; (2) Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester : and Isabel, married 
Frederick II., emperor of Germany. 

I. Loss of the French Provinces. 1204. 

On the death of Richard, Arthur (son of Geoffrey, elder brother 
to John) was proclaimed in Anjou, Maine, and Touraine. Philip, 
under cover of asserting Arthur's rights, resolved to accomplish 
now what the prowess of the Lion-hearted king had prevented 
his doing before. In 1202, John bribed the French to desert the 
interest of Arthur, but his folly in taking away Isabella from the 
count la Marche roused another enemy, who appealing to Philip, 
induced that monarch to renew hostilities in 1204. In an at- 
tempt to besiege the king's mother in the castle of Mirabeau, it so 
happened that Arthur of Brittany became a prisoner. John sent 
him off to Falaise, whence he was removed to Rouen, and soon 
after disappeared ; that he was murdered all agree, but whether 
by the hands of the king, or a paid assassin, is uncertain. 

John was publicly charged with the crime, and called upon by 
Philip his superior lord to prove his innocence, before his peers 
of France. As he refused to obey the summons, the following 
judgment was pronounced : — Whereas John, duke of Normandy, 
in violation of his oath to Philip his lord, had m ordered the son 
of his elder brother, a homager of the crown of France, and near 
kinsman to the king, and had perpetrated the crime within the 
seigniory of France, he was found guilty of felony and treason, 
and was adjudged to forfeit all the lands which he held by homage. 
Almost immediately the whole of the English possessions in 
France, Guienne excepted, was re-annexed to the French crown. 
In 1206 ? John landed an army at Rochelle, but besides reducing 
the castle of Montauban and burning Angers, nothing was done 

II. John's Quarrel with Pope Innocent. 

On the death of Hubert the primate, the monks of Christ 
Churcii Canterbury, elected Reginald their sub-prior as his suc- 
cessor ^1205), and sent him off to obtain the pope's approbation. 
The king, when this was known, ordered the monks to elect John 
de Grey, bithop of Norwich ; he also was despatched to liome. 



JOHN. £9 

Innocent set aside the first election because uncanonically made, 
and the second, because mado when the see was not empty. 
Stephen Langton, an Englishman of eminent learning, was now 
elected by the pope's mandate., by such of the monks of Canter- 
bury as were then at Rome. On hearing this, John put himself 
in a rage, drope the sinning monks out of the kingdom, and de- 
clared that Langton should never enter England as primate. As 
Innocent could not soothe the irritated king, he resolved to punish 
him by putting his kingdom under an interdict (1208), by which 
the churches were closed, and the sacraments suspended, except 
to infants and the dying. John's anger was now extreme, the 
bishops fled, and the clergy were aRoweJonly a reasonable sup- 
port out of their incomes ; the king kept most of the lands for 
his own profit, and in many cases sold off all the cattle from their 
estates. 

It is worth notice, that whilst under the ban of the church, 
John met with his greatest political successes. He had summoned 
William of Scotland to meet him at Lincoln, and do him homage, 
and engage not to marry his son Alexander without the consent 
of the king of England, his liege lord. In 1207, William pro- 
posing to break the pledge, John again summoned him to answer 
for his presumption, upon which the Scotch monarch made his 
peace, by sending his two daughters to be disposed of in marriage 
and subsequently Alexander, the heir of Scotland, was placed in 
the keeping of the English monarch. In 1210, the king crossed 
to Ireland with a large army, to reduce the lawless English chief- 
tains, who were frequently at war with each other. After 
accomplishing this purpose, the English province was divided into 
counties, the English laws established, and the government in« 
trusted to Grey, bishop of Norwich. The next year, the king led 
an army into Wales, and received the submission of Llewellyn, 
with 28 hostages, of noble families, as a security for the tran- 
quillity of the marches. 

When Innocent found the interdict ineffective, he published a 
bull of excommunication, but the ports were so closely watched that 
it could not be introduced into England. Influenced by the English 
prelates and the obstinacy of the king, the pope absolved (1212) 
John's vassals from their oaths of fealty, and called upon Christian 
princes and barons to dethrone the excommunicated monarch. 
Philip of France readily undertook an engagement that so exactly 
suited his views. Aware of his danger, John sent an envoy to 
propitiate the Roman pontiff, and Pandulf in ecu sequence came 
to England to accept the king's submission. Meanwhile John 
had not been idle, the Cinque Ports' fleet being ordered out, 
captuied many of the French shipSj besides ravaging the coasts of 



60 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

France, and burning Barfleur, Dieppe, and other piaces. On 
Barbara Down was assembled an army of 60,000 men, but of this 
host there were few on whose fidelity he could depend. Pandulf, 
after alarming the fears of John, obtained from him these stipu- 
lation? : — that Langton should be received as primate; that all 
exiles be restored to their land and offices ; and that all prisoners 
on account of the late quarrel be liberated. The legate on hit 
part promised that when these conditions were fulfilled, the inter- 
dict and excommunication should be revoked. Subsequently, 
deputies met (1213) in the Templars' Church, Dover, when an 
instrument was signed by the king and fourteen of the nobility to 
(he effect — that John, as an atonement for his offences, of his 
own free will and with the consent of the barons, granted to the 
pope and his successors the kingdoms of England and Ireland, tc 
be holden hereafter of the bishops of Rome in fee, by the annuaj 
rent of 1000 marks. The oath of fealty to the pope was then 
taken, and John reconciled to the Iloly See. 

III. War with France. 

When it was known to Philip that a reconciliation had taken 
place between John and the pope, he was full of indignation, and 
proposed to embark for England notwithstanding. The earl of 
Flanders objected, upon which the French resolved to annex that 
province. In aid of the earl, John sent over a fleet of 500 sail, 
which came upon Philip's fleet at Damme (1213) and gained a 
decisive victory, making prizes of 300 ships laden with stores. 
The French now withdrew from Flanders. John, elated with his 
success, carried the war into Philip's dominions, but the allied 
army was defeated by Philip at Bouvine (1214), which put an 
end to the hopes of the English king, and forced him to beg a 
truce for five years. 

IV. Magna Charta obtained. 1215. 

General discontent existed among the barons because of the 
oppressive rule of John, so much so indeed that many of them had 
refused to follow him to the Continent. Meetings were held 
successively at St. Albans, St. Paul's, and Bury St. Edmund'?, 
and a resolution come to, to demand the observance of the laws 
granted by Henry I. The king at first refused to comply, and 
placed himself under the piofection of the pope, who, in his 
support, sent a letter to Langton, hinting that he had been a 
orincipal mover in the sedition, and that henceforth he was to 
exert all bis authority to promote harmony between the king and 
his barons. Bat the barons had made up their minds, and 
fathering a force proclaimed themselves the army of God and his 



JOHN 61 

holy Church, and elected Fitz- Walter as their leader. Ats sooii 
as London was occupied by the barons, John intimated his 
willingness to grant their demands. The contending parties met 
(June 15, 1215) at Rurnymede ; on one side appeared Fitz* 
Walter and the majority of the English nobles, on the other tn« 
king, eight bishops, and fifteen gentlemen. With great reluctance 
the king signed the celebrated Magna CJiarta; its prinoipal 
clauses were, — 

1. Eelating to the Chubch. That the church should possess 
all its privileges inviolate, especially freedom of election to benefices. 

2. Relating to the Barons. That reliefs be limited to a fixed 
sum, according to the rank of the tenant: That aids be demanded 
only in the three cases — knighthood of the oldest son, marriage of the 
eldest daughter, and the ransom of the king's person; in every other 
case neither aid nor scutage to be imposed but with the consent of 
the council : That guardians in chivalry may not waste the estate, 
nor marry the heir during .minority ; nor to their disparagement, nor 
compel widows to marry : That the forest law be mitigated : and 
that whatever privileges the king grants his vassals, they in like 
manner shall grant to theirs. 

3. Relating to Traders. That London and other towns retain 
their ancient privileges : That there be one weight and measure 
throughout the realm : and that freedom of commerce be granted to 
foreign merchants. 

4. Relating to Freemen Generally. That right or justice 
be not sold, or refused or delayed: That no freeman be impiisoned, 
or lose his freehold, or free customs, or be outlawed, or otherwise 
punished, but by the judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land; 
That no person be fined to his utter rum, but only according to his 
offence, and means of payment, and that no man be deprived of hid 
instruments jf labor: That all men may travel out of the kingdom, 
and return when they please: That a man may make what Tvill h-3 
pleases, and, dying without one, the law shall make one for him : and 
that the Court of Common Pleas shall no longer follow the king's 
person, but be held in some certain place, and be open to all. 

V. War with the Barons. 
In making such great concessions, John acted without sin- 
cerity, for he immediately took measures to regain his sovereign 
authorit}'. Two deputations were sent off, one to traverse 
Flanders and other countries, to hire mercenaries at any price; 
the other, to go to Rome to obtain the powerful aid of the pontiff. 
Auxiliaries came to England in great numbers ; and Innocent 
annulled the Charter, on the ground that as England was now 
a tief of the Holy See, the king had no power to- grant away 
the rights of the crown. John now put part of his force to 
ravag-e the counties north and east of London, and with the 
remainder proceeded himself to the north of England, burning 
castle", towns, and villages on the road ; then, because Alexander 
ha 1 sided with the borons, he entered Scotland and gave II ad- 



62 OUTLINES OF ENGLI8H HISiORY. 

dington, Dunbar, and Berwick to the flames. The barona eh at 
up in London made an oilier of the crown of England to Louis 
the dauphin ; French auxiliaries now poured into England, and 
tne desertion of John's mercenaries seemed to make his cause 
desperate. A reaction however soon set in, from a growing 
jealousy of Louis, who had already made grants of English earl- 
doms to his followers. With an increasing force, John deter- 
mined to move again to the north, but in crossing the Wash, the 
returning tide swept away his baggage. Anxiety or poison 
threw the king into a fever, and in a week he died at Newark, 
Thence his body was conveyed to Worcester for interment. 

Miscellaneous Facts. The Magna Charta was really a renewal 
of the charter of Henry I., in a more complete and precise form ; it 
contained 72 clauses, but these when the charter was renewed by 
Henry III. were reduced to 37, by reconstructing some of the articles, 
and striking out those of temporary interest. English monarchs 
ever looked upon it as an encroachment on their sovereign preroga- 
tives, wrung from their imbecile predecessor ; the people however saw 
in it the expression of their just rights. Henoe there was evasion on 
one hand, and on the other, a continued struggle to maintain its in- 
tegrity. It was solemnly ratified by successive sovereigns more than 
30 times, but n*ost of the ratifications were purchased by subsidies. 

Cheonicle. 1199, About this time coats of arms became here- 
ditary. 1200, Chimneys came into occasional use. 1204, The Inqui- 
sition established by Innocent III. 1209, First stone bridge at 
London completed. 

HENRY III. 1216-1272. 

Royal Family. Henry III. (1206—1272) was the eldest son of 
John ; be came to the throne in his tenth year, and was committed 
to the keeping of Peter de Eoches, bishop of Winchester. His reign 
proved very unpopular, to whicb hie marriage greatly contributed, 
for it introduced many foreigners into the kingdom who exercised a 
bad influence over the weak mind of Henry, and led him to gratify 
their rapacity to the injury of his own subjects. For nearly seven 
years the barons deprived him of the government, and it was only 
regained by the superior energy of his son Edward. Henry was emi- 
nently unfit for the kingly offic*, particularly so in a turbulent period; 
he possessed neither talent nor courage ; his very gentleness was 
almost a vice, when nothing but energy of character could save the 
nation fr^>m the miseries ofanarchy. By some writers he has been 
accounted a good man and religious, but he was capable of great in- 
sincerity and perfectly regardless <>F his oath. 

The consort of Henry was Eleanor (1222 — 1291) daughter of Ray- 
mond, count of Provence. The marriage took place when she was 
but fourteen, having then an imperfect education, an unformed 
judgment, and the character of a spoiled child. Peter of Savoy, her 
uncle, and many other foreigners, were brought into the kingdom, 
taking both the influence and emoluments to which the English had 
et prior claim. Besides, she invited ovei damsels from Provence, end 
the king married them to the young nobles of England of whom he 



3ENRY III. 63 

had the wardship. So great was the dislike of thte English to her, 
that on more than one occasion she was grossly insulted. After the 
death of her husband, she retired to the nunnery at Amesbury, wher* 
ehe died, leaving behind her the character of being the most unpopulai 
queen England ever saw. 

The children of Henry were : — Edward, who became king ; Edmund, 
#arl of Lancaster; Margaret, married Alexander III. of Scotland; 
and Beatrice, married John duke of Brittany. 

I. Regency of Pembroke and De Burgh. 

At the death of John, the royal family was at Gloucester, in 
which city Henry was crowned. Being but a boy, the regency 
fell to the earl of Pembroke, the marshal. A great council met 
immediately at Bristol, and the Magna Charta was revised and 
confirmed. It was fortunate that the proceedings of Louis had 
made the English suspicious of his intentions, and indignant at 
the honors which he had bestowed on his foreign retainers. Many 
therefore returned to their allegiance, and Louis found himself 
obliged to raise the siege of Dover. At Lincoln (1217), the 
barons' army met with defeat at the hands of Pembroke ; this 
victory was called the " Fair of Lincoln," on account of the 
conquerors being enrichsd with a goodly spoil. Louis was now 
shut up in London, and his fleet bearing reinforcements being 
defeated by Hubert de Burgh, he accepted terms and left the 
country. Some of the barons however held out in their castles 
till the death of the Protector in 1218. 

The chief power was now entrusted to de Burgh the justiciary, 
who found in the refractory barons more than ordinary difficul- 
ties, which were further increased by the evil influence of Peter 
de Roches, the custodian of the king. This forced Hubert to 
employ in some cases great severity ; thus a foreigner held Bed- 
ford castle in spite of the king who invested it in person ; when 
the place was taken, no less than 80 persons were ordered to be 
hanged- In 1230, Henry made an unsuccessful attempt on 
France, the blame fell on Hubert who was in bad esteem, for 
having used his power to enrich himself with lands and ward- 
ships. He took sanctuary but was dragged forth, and stripped 
9f all except his patrimonial inheritance. From this time the 
king becomes responsible for the government. 

II. Disputes with Scotland, Wales, and France. 

Alexander II. of Scotland made a demand for the three north- 
ern counties as his undoubted inheritance ; in reply, Henry con- 
tended that the homage done to him and his father was forthe 
kingdom of Scotland. On the accession of Alexander III. Henry 
claimed homage, and again when tne Scotch king came to York 
(1251) to marry Margaret, Henry's daughter ; Alexander however 



64 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

evaded the demand by urging that he came to England to many 
a wife and not to treat on matters of state. The Scots beina 
offended separated the young queen from her husband and placec 
her in confinement, from which she was released by an armeti 
force, and Henry as the feudal superior then formed a new 
regency. 

Throughout the reign there were hostilities carried on against 
the Welsh, on account of the frequency of their predatory in- 
cursions. Sometimes a force vras led into the Principality, at 
other times treaties were made, but the end was always the same. 
The march country " was rendered almost a desert, the people 
fell by the sword, castles and towns were burnt, the woods felled, 
and the flocks and herds annihilated." 

Louis,theFrench prince, when he resigned England to Henry, 
promised to obtain for him the restoration of the provinces in 
France taken from John. But when he came to the throne (1223), 
he republished the sentence of forfeiture against Henry's father, 
and entered upon a part of what had remained in possession of 
the English. Richard, the king's brother, re-established our 
power in Guienne. The minority of Louis IX. seemed to offer a 
favorable opportunity, and Henry carried an army over to St. 
Malo (1230), but wasting his time in foolish display and pas 
times, the campaign ended only in damaging the reputation of 
the king. This war ended in a truce. In 1242, Henry made 
another campaign in France, the armies met at Taillebourg and, 
the English being outnumbered, saved themselves by flight. 
Within two days Henry was defeated at Saintonge, and in his 
flight abandoned his military chest to the enemy. This war also 
ended in a truce. 

III. Henry's unsatisfactory Government. 

Henry, it is said, had grown up with a persuasion that the 
English barons were leagued to strip the crown of its lawful pre- 
rogatives, he therefore confided in the fidelity of foreigners. 
Without doubt lie much disliked the charter, but when in want 
of money in 1253, the barons wrung from him its solemn con- 
firmation. On this occasion the archbishop of Canterbury, in 
Westminster abbey, denounced excommunication against ail vio- 
lates of the Magna Charta, Charter of Forests, or privileges of 
the church ; thereupon all who held lighted torches threw them 
down, " On being extinguished they gave forth a stench, and all 
exclaimed, Thus perish and stink in hell all who incur this sen- 
tence ! The king with his hand on his breast, said. So lielp me, 
God, all these things will I faithfully observe, as I am a man, a 
Christian, a knight, and a crowned and anointed kiiiir " 



U3N3Y III. 65 

Great dissatisfaction existed among the English barons on ac- 
count of the shoals of foreigners which came to England, and, by 
the influence of the queen, were quartered in some form upon 
the nation ; but they procured the largest measure of nate on 
account of their becoming, nearly altogether, the advisers of the 
king. A further cause of dissatisfaction grew out of the 
sanction which Henry gave to the papal exactions, and although 
they fell principally on the clergy, it was nevertheless true that 
the country was impoverished thereby. It is said that, within 
the space of a few years, the papal agents in London took from 
the clergy a sum equivalent to fifteen millions of modern 
money. And it was a further grievance that by papal provisions, 
the best benefices in England were held by non-resident Italians. 

IV. Barons' war : the first House of Commons. 1235. 

The prodigality, the exactions, the cowardice, the king's par- 
tiality to foreigners, all conspired to make him generally hated 
by the nation, and when, by the acceptance of Sicily for his son, 
he had involved himself in pecuniary obligations to an unpre- 
cedented extent, the barons appeared at the council at West- 
minster, and demanded that the powers of the government should 
be delegated to a committee of barons and prelates. At the 
u Mad Parliament" which met at Oxford (1258), a committee of 
reform was appointed, the most influential member of which was 
Simon de Montf ort, earl of Leicester, a foreigner and brother-in- 
law of the king. The reformers soon displaced the principal 
crown and other officers, by which measure they deprived the 
king of the means of resistance. To secure the regeneration of 
the country, it was ordaiued: — that four knights should be choser 
by the freeholders in each country, to inquire and lay before par- 
liament the injuries done in their respective counties under the 
king's government : that the freeholders of each county should 
annually appoint a new sherilf : that all the sheriffs, with the 
treasurer, chancellor, and justiciary, should render their accounts 
annually : and that parliament should meet three times a year. 
Henry, as the reformers proved more careful o^ their own 
interests than those of the nation, took again upon himself the 
government. This led the barons to collect their forces, and 
ravage the estates of all those who sided with the king. Both 
parties now agreed to refer the Provisions of Oxford to the arbi- 
tration of Louis ; his award was against the barons, on the 
ground that the Provisions were subversive of royal authority 
War was now renewed and, at the battle of Lewes (1264), the 
king's forces met with defeat ; he himself and hin brother Richard 
were made captive. By a treaty called the •' Mise of Lewaa," 



06 



OUTLINES OF ENGLISH rflSTORY. 



it was agreed that all the prisoners should be set at liberty ; that 
prince Edward and his cousin Henry should be hostages for the 
peaceable conduct of the king ; and that the matters in dispute 
should be settled by the parliament, or by arbitration. 

The parliament that met (Jan. 28, 1265) was remarkable for 
the introduction of anew element — representatives from the cities 
and boroughs; hence the House of Commons dates from this 
time. It was professedly called to consider upon what terms a 
release could be granted to the two princes Edward and Henry ; 
Edward was allowed to be in the company of his father, upon 
condition that the county of Chester and other fiefs were ceded 
to Leicester. This parliament enacted — that the charters and 
ordinances should be observed ; that Leicester should not be 
questioned for his past conduct ; that should the earl or his as- 
sociates be aggrieved by the king, their vassals should be released 
from their oaths of fealty ; that prince Edward should not quit 
the realm for three years ; &c. 

V. Reaction in favour of Henry. 

The poficy of Leicester in calling up representatives from the 
people, while it attached to him the lower ranks, lost the regard 
of those who saw in this innovation the decline of their order. 
The earl moreover was too ambitious and arrogant to live long 
on terms of amity with those who deemed themselves his equals. 
Jealousies grew up, and when the earl of Gloucester fell off, 
many joined him, and when prince Edward made his escape 
from his keepers, the royalist party soon became respectable in 
numbers. Leicester, then at Hereford, called out the king's 
military tenauts ; nor was the other party idle, for the city of 
Gloucester was taken, the bridge over the Severn broken down, 
and the boats destroyed. Defeat met the earl's son coming to 
his aid, at Kenil worth, and the father was slain a few days 
later, at the battle of Evesham (1265). No great resistance 
was offered after this. By the " Dictum of Kenilworth," the 
supporters of Leicester were divided into three classes, and 
made to pay a fine varying from one to seven years' value of 
their estates. The kingdom had, by 1269, settled down into 
comparative quiet, and prince Edward took the opportunity to 
join the crusade under St. Louis. 

Miscellaneous Facts. When the Great Charter **as revised 
in 1217. the cIhuscs relating to forests were thrown into a -epar ate form, 
and eailed the Charter of Forests. It was deemed then of infinite 
jnportance, because of its mitigating the severity of the old forest laws. 
It was ordained that no man should thenceforth lose either K3e or limb 
for huntrng deer ; but if a man wa<? convicted of taking venison, he Tag 
to pay a grievous fine • and if he had nothing to pay, he was U; bf 



EDWARD I. 67 

Imprisoned a year and a day, and fchen discharged upon pledge, which if 
ne could not find, he was to abjure the realm. 

In this reign, the Mendicants or Begging Friars, an institution of the 
century, found their way into England. They professed poverty and 
subsisted by begging from door to door, hence their name; they were 
moreover preachers and independent of episcopal control. Of the friar a 
there were many orders. The Dominicans came first to England, ana 
settled at Oxford (1221) .• from the colour of their dress, they were 
called Blackfriars. Next in order came the Franciscans, or Friars 
Minor, called also Greyfriars from their grey habit. After these cam© 
the Carmelites, or WhVefriars, and lastly the Augustines. For a time 
their labours were beneficial. Full of a new-born zeal, they drew many 
from a life of sin to one of comparative virtue ; for their ancient orders 
falling into disrepute, the pulpits and chairs of learning became filled by 
more zealous, laborious and popular men. 

Chronicle. 1221, First appearance of Begging Friars in England. 
1246, Tiles for the covering of houses said to be first used in England. 
1257, The first gold coin is struck by Henry III. 1260, Eoger Bacon 
invents the magic lantern, also a composition like gunpowder for a 
fulminating powder. 1265, Meeting of the first House of Commons. 
1266, First statute passed for establishing an assize of bread and ale. 

EDWARD I. 1272-1307. 

Royal Family. Edward I. (1239—1307), surnamed Longshanks 
from the disproportionate length of his legs, was the eldest son of Henry 
III. In 1252, he was invested with the Duchy of Guienne. At an early 
age he took part in public affairs, and for a while was in opposition to 
his father. The reign of Edward is distinguished for the progress made 
in the settlement of our laws and constitution, hence he" is sometimes 
called the English Justinian, and it is remarked, that more was done to 
settle and establish the distributive justice of the kingdom, during the 
first thirteen years of his reign, than in all the next four centuries. His 
frequent violations of the Great Charter, the weight of his exactions, the 
imprisonment of freemen on various pretexts, for the mere purpose of 
forcing money from them, are acts which cannot be defended, any more 
than his ungenerous conduct toward Scotland. 

The first consort of Edward was Eleanor (1244 — 90), daughter of 
Ferdinand of Castile. When Edward took the cross she resolved to 
ghare his fortunes. In Palestine, where her lord was wounded by an 
assassin, her careful attendance gave rise to the romantic fable of having 
stved her husband's life, by sucking the poison from the wound. 
After she became queen, she followed Edward in his Welsh campaigns, 
aiid gave birth at Carnarvon, to the first Prince of Wales. And when 
her death happened in Lincolnshire, she was following her husband who 
had gone to the north on Scotch affairs. By directions on her will, 
crosses were erected at the several places where the body rested on its 
way to Westminster for interment. In Eleanor were united loveliness, 
virtue, and sweetness of temper ; she was greatly respected in England 
for she introduced no herd of foreigners, nor did she distress the peoph 
by purveyance. 

The second consort of Edward was Margaret (1279 — 1317) daughter of 
Philir III. of France. At the time of their mtariage (1299) Edward's 



63 OUTLINES OF K>.GUSH HISTORY. 

age was three times that of the bride. To the English she proved accept- 
able by restr-.r.i.ncr the violent temper of her husband. After Edward's 
death she resided principally at Marlborough Castle. 

The children of Edward by Eleanor were: — Edward, who became 
kin?: Eleanor married Henry Duke of Bar: Joan of Acre, married (1) 
Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester, (2) Ralph Monthermer: Margaret married 
John, Duke of Brabant : Mary, who took the veil : and Ehzabeth 
married (1) John, Count of Holland, (2) Humphrey, Earl of Hereford. 
By his wife Margaret were : Thomas, Earl of Norfolk and Earl Marshal : 
and Edmund, Earl of Kent, whose daughter Joan became the wife of 
Edward the Black Prince. 

I. Reduction of Wales. 

At the time of his father's death, Edward was on his way home 
from Palestine, but he did not land in England till 1274, having 
spent the intervening time in attention to affairs connected 
with his dominions on the Continent. One of the first things 
demanding his attention in England was the refusal oi 
Llewellyn to do homage, and though a safe-conduct was off ered 
he yet evaded the demand. Thereupon the parliament (1276) 
declared the Welsh prince to have forfeited his lands. In the 
year following, active measures were taken against him, in 
which David, the brother of Llewellyn, took part. Crossing the 
Dee, Edward took the castles of Flint and Rhuddlan, and shut 
up the enemy in the mountains of Snowdon ; in a few w T eeks 
the prince submitted and promising to do homage, the king 
delivered to him his bride, Eleanor de Montfort, who had been 
Edward's prisoner two years. 

The Welsh soon grew dissatisfied because their ancient usages 
were replaced by English law, and Llewellyn and David had 
each their separate grievances. The marches were again filled 
with swarms of Welsh, who wasted the country with fire and 
sword, and inflicted on the inhabitants all kinds of barbarity. 
A strong army marched against them (1282). Llewellyn was 
surprised near Builth, and fell in a hand-to-hand combat : his 
head being forwarded to London was fixed en the Tower. The 
death of this prince ended the independence of Wales ; all 
the chiefs but David made their submission, and he at the end 
nf six months was delivered up by his countrymen, and 
executed as a traitor. For more than a year, Edward resided 
in Wales. To overawe the Welsh, he built many new castles 
and repaired the old ones, and as a further security he planted 
English in several towns. The English law in criminal cases 
was made obligatory, and the march district divided into 
counties and hundreds, with sheriffs and coroners. The story 
of the massacre of the bards is a poetical fiction 



EDWARD I. $? 

II. Wars with Scotland. 

The death of Alexander III. caused the crown of Scotland to 
dsseend to Margaret, the " Maid of Norway," a child but three 
years of age, who died at the Orkneys on her way to her inherit- 
ance. Of several claimants to the throne, three only were 
thought important — Balliol, Bruce, and Hastings, — all descended 
from David of Huntingdon, brother of William the Lion. To 
settle this dispute an appeal was made to Edward, who awarded 
the kingdom of Scotland (1292) to Balliol, on the ground of his 
descent from the elder branch of the family, taking, however, from 
him homage for u himself and his heirs and the whole kingdom of 
Scotland." But the new king soon found his condition of vas- 
salage intolerable, for his subjects appealed to Edward when they 
thought themselves aggrieved, and Balliol was forced to appear 
at Westminster to answer. With the consent of the barons 
ne resolved to throw off the yoke, upon which Edward carried 
Berwick "by assault (1296), when 7,000 perished in the massacre. 
Pushing forward, the earl de Warrenne fought a battle near 
Dunbar, in which the Scots lost 15,000 men. The principal 
places in Scotland now submitted, and Balliol, after giving an in- 
strument of renunciation, was permitted to retire to Normandy. ' 
De Warrenne became the guardian of the kingdom, and English- 
men filled all the principal offices. The regalia and crowning 
stone were removed to London. 

From 1297 to 1304 was carried on what is called the "Scottish 
war of Independence." Sir William Wallace, an outlaw, being 
■joined by others of the same class, commenced the attempt while 
Edward was on the Continent. A battle fought near Stirling 
(1297) gave the victory to the insurgent party ; 5,000 of the 
English perished. After strengthening the garrisons the English 
withdrew, with Wallace in pursuit across the borders. Edward 
was soon home, and, at the head of his army, defeated the 
Scots at Falkirk (1298), 30,000 of the enemy perishing. Wallace 
again betook himself to the forests, and only reappeared shortly 
before his capture in 1305. The Scots yet held out, and it was 
not till 1304 that a treaty was concluded between Edward ano 
Comyn, one of the guardians of Scotland. Scotland was now 
considered as a conquered country. 

In 1305 the war was renewed by Robert Bruce, the grandson 
of the competitor, who though in the confidence of Edward, haa 
resolved to stake everything to secure the independence of his 
country. In a few months he was crowned at Scone, to the no 
small indignation of his former master. Fortune, however, failed 
aim for a while, and he was forced to take refuge in the island of 



70 0UTL1NE8 OF ENGLISU HISTORY. 

Rathlin ; the wife, daughter, and two sisters became prisoners to 
the English, and to conmlete his misfortunes, his two brothers 
were captured and ordered for execution. Edward was about to 
make another campaign in Scotland, when death seized him at 
Burgh-upon- Sands. 

III. War with France. 

The war with France grew out of a quarrel between two sailors, 
an Englishman and a Norman, in which the latter was killed 
(1293). This led to a maritime war, carried on without national 
authority, the Normans beingassistedby the French and Genoese, 
and the English by the sailors of Ireland and Gascony. Fleets 
numbering a hundred or two of vessels engaged in battle, or plun- 
dered the coast towns of the opposite party. An engagement in 
which the enemy lost 200 ships so enraged Philip that he re- 
solved to exact redress from Edward, as duke of Aquitaine, whom 
he therefore summoned to appear at Paris and make answer. 
Edmund, the king's brother, was sent over to negotiate, but his 
simplicity was fatal to his cause, for the French king obtained 
from him (1294) the surrender of Guienne for forty days, on the 
pretence that he only desired to save his honour. But at the 
expiration of that time Philip refused to restore the province, 
and subsequently declared it forfeited, for default of Edward's 
appearance. As soon as the affairs of Wales and Scotland per- 
mitted (1297), Edward collected two armies, one for Guienne, the 
other for Flanders ; his principal officers, however, refused to go, 
on account of the great exactions which had been levied contrary 
to right. The king embarked, nevertheless, but during his ab- 
sence he found it necessary to confirm the two charters. Ed- 
ward's campaign in Flanders proved useless, and ended in a truce 
for two years. 

The demand at home both for money and troops effectually 
prevented the recovery of Guienne by force of arms. A plan of 
reconciliation proposed by thepope proved more successful. The 
king was to marry Margaret, sister of Philip, and Edward his son 
to be affianced to Isabel, the daughter of the same monarch. 
These arrangements were effected in 1299, but the duchy was not 
restored till 1303. 

Miscellaneous Facts. Under the feudal system the lord of a 
fee had certain rights of service and profit, such as knight-service, 
wards, reliefs, escheats, and the like. But when the estate passed into 
the hands of a corporate body, the lord lost the whole of his expecta- 
tions, for a corporation has perpetual continuance aod succession. 
A.nd besides, as alienation of lands to corporate bodies increased, it 
traa observed that the feudal services ordained for the defence of the 



XDWARD II. 71 

kingdom, were every day visibly withdrawn, and that the circulation 
ul landed property from man to man began to stagnate. It is indeed 
Baid, that to avoid the burden of military service, it was not unusual 
to make feigr dd grants of land to the church. To prevent this irre* 
gularity, a h.ortmain Act was passed (1279), by which it was for. 
bidden to religious persons, or any other, by any means, art, or con 
trivftnce, to appropriate lands or tenements, so that they come inir» 
mortmain in any way, under penalty and forfeiture of the same. 

In 1279, or as some say 1295, there were called up to the nations i 
synod, representatives of the lower clergy. From this time the Con- 
vocation, or clerical parliament, consisted of two houses. In the 
upper house sit the bishops and archbishops ; in the lower, the deana, 
ftrchdsacons, and proctors, to represent the cathedral and working 
clergy. At certain periods of our history this institution exerted 
considerable influence, but its power has greatly declined — (1) by statute 
of Henry VI II., which deprived it of the power of performing any 
act without the king's licence ; (2) by the private arrangement between 
archbishop S4ieldon and Lord Clarendon (1664), that the clergy should 
no longer tax themselves in convocation; (3) by its practical annihila- 
tion in 1717. 

Edward dealt severely with the Jews, several hundred he executed, 
and in 1287 imprisoned the entire race, to be released on payment of 
£12,000. In 1290 he ordered every Jew to leave the kingdom in two 
months, under penalty of death. It was not till the Protectorate of 
Oliver Cromwell that they returned to England, though then without 
any formal sanction. 

Chronicle. 1281, Notice taken of a trade in coal from Newcastle; 
it began to be used in London by brewers and other trades. 1299, 
Spectacles said to be invented by a monk of Pisa. 1300, Improvement 
of the mariner's compass by Flavio Gioia, of Amalfi. 

EDWARD II. 1307-1327. 

Royal Family. Edward II. (1284—1327), son of Edward I., 
oecame heir apparent a few months after his birth, by the death of his 
elder brother. In 1297, when his father went to Flanders, he wis left 
as regent of the kingdom; three years later we find him leading a 
division of the army in the Scotch campaign. Under the influence of 
Gaveston his conduct was most unprincely. By his love of sensual 
gratification, by his placing the government of the kingdom in the 
hands of unworthy favourites, and by hl*> efforts to set himself above the 
constitution, he proved himself to be both a bad man and a bad king, 
though he did not deserve the terrible fate that befell him. 

The consort of Edward was Isabella (1295 — 1357), daughter of 
Philip IV. of France. She was betrothed at the age of five years, and 
married when she was but thirteen. Her troubles began as soon as she 
landed in England, for Edward showed more affection for Gaveston 
thin for his brine; in writing to he? father she declared herself the 
most wretched of wives. The disturbance in the government brought 
her into contact with Eoger Mortimer, from which time her character 
became depraved. Mortimer having escaped to France, the queen 
on pretence of making peace between her brother the French king, 
&nd Sdward, followed him. Her connection with Aior timer gave rise tc 



'/2 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH BISTORT. 

co much scandal, that her brother ordered her to quit nig dominions 
After residing a time in Hainault she came to England, and the de- 
position and death of her husband followed. Her son, Edward III., 
committed her to Castle Risings, in Norfolk, where she was confined 
twenty-seven years. " Since the days of the fair and false Elfrida. no 
Eileen of England has left so dark a stain on the annals of femaie 
{•eyalty as the consort of Edward II." 

The children of Edward were — Edward, who became king. John, 
earl of Cornwall ; Eleanor, married Beynald, count of Gueldres ; and 
J oan, married David II. of Scotland. 

I. First insurrection of the Barons, 

From childhood, Piers de Gaveston, son of a gentleman of 
Guienne, bad been the constant companion of Edward, but his 
influence was so corrupting that the late king, before his death, 
made him leave the kingdom. But the first thing done by the 
new monarch was to recall his favourite and create him earl of 
Cornwall. The barons in parliament demanded his immediate 
banishment, and the king so far complied as to send him out of 
the country to undertake the government of Ireland. Soon, how- 
ever, he was recalled, and proving more insolent than ever, the 
barons obliged the king to consent to the appointment of a com 
mittee of ordainers (1310), with authority to regulate the king's 
household, and redress the grievances of the nation. Gaveston 
was again banished, with the understanding that if found here- 
after in the king's dominions, he should be treated as the enemy 
of the nation. After residing a few months in Flanders, he was 
once more recalled by his foolish master ; the barons now took 
up arms, and appointed Thomas, earl of Lancaster, their leader. 
Gaveston, being shut up in Scarborough, was compelled to sur- 
render (1312) ; the earl of Warwick, whom he had insulted, 
made himself master of his person, and the favourite was exe- 
cuted on Blacklow Hill. Edward was full of indignation, but 
his circumstances compelled him to grant a general amnesty. 

II. War with Scotland. 

When Edward I. died, Bruce was slowly makinghimself master 
f>f Scotland, and while the new king was engaged in disputes 
with his barons, his success became so great, tnat Stirling was 
almost the only fortress remaining in possession of the English, 
and this the governor had consented to surrender, if not relieved 
by a given time. To relieve the garrison, an expedition, said to 
numuer 100,000 men, moved from England, and reached the be- 
leaguered fortress with only a few hours of the time to spare. 
Br uce'fi army mustered 30,000 picked men, pooled in a position 
of advantage, vvitn a reserve of 15,000 camp followers in the rear. 



EDWARD II. 73 

Battle was joined early in the morning, but the English were 
soon thrown into confusion, by reason of the ground having been 
honeycombed all over, by pits dug out and then tilled with brush- 
wood and covered with sod. A charge in line made by Bruce 
drove the English off the ground, and Edward pursued by a pany 
of horse never halted till he reached Dunbar, where he embarked 
for England. The battle of Bannockbum CI 3 14) secured the 
independence of Scotland, and enabled Bruce to obtain by 
exchange his wife and other relatives, who had been prisoners 
in England eight years. 

The success of the Scots encouraged the Irish to attempt to 
win their independence, and a correspondence was opened with 
Bruce to secure his aid. Edward, brother of the Scotch king, 
carried over a force, and after defeating the English, was crowned 
king of Ulster (1315). Robert then went over with a numerous 
army, and ravaged the country round Dublin, but the natives 
were disunited among themselves, and their cause received a fatal 
Mow in the death of Edward Bruce, who fell in battle, near Dun- 
dalk (1318). After their return to Scotland, many forays were 
made by the Scots into England ; the country was ravaged with- 
out opposition, and many towns given to the flames. A truce 
(1323) put an end to a war which had occasioned intense misery 
to the border districts of both countries for twenty yearg. 

III. Second insurrection of the Barons. 

Edward had taken to himself & fcocond favourite in the person 
of Hugh de Spenser, to whom he gave in marriage a daughter ox 
the earl of Gloucester, which brought him into collision with the 
lord-marchers. These lords united in defence of their rights, and 
with a force of 10,000 men ravaged the lands of the favourite, and 
overawing the parliament, obtained an act banishing the De 
Sperjsers, father and son, on the ground that they had usurped 
the royal power and advised unconstitutional measures. Within 
three months they were recalled, and hostile forces again took the 
field. At Borobridge (1322) the confederates met with defeat, 
and the earl of Lancaster their leader, having surrendered, was 
conducted to Pontefract and his head struck off. This success 
proved the ruin of Edward, for he became more tyrannical than 
before, and his favourite more arrogant. Amongthose imprisoned 
for their part in the insurrection was Roger Mortimer, lord of 
Wigmore ; having made his escape to France, he contrived tc 
draw over Prince Edward and his mother, on pretence of settling 
the dispute with respect to Guienne. The queen now gave her- 
self into the hands of the lord of Wigmore, and having raised a 
force of 2,000 men, landed at Orwell with the intention, as a pro- 



74 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY 

clarnation stated, of freeing the people of England froa fhe, 
tyranny of De Spenser. As Isabella advanced towards the capital 
Edward with his favourites hastened to the marches of Wales. 
The queen pushed on and captured Bristol, defended by the elder 
De Spenser (1326) ; the old earl, ninety years of age, was exe- 
cuted and his body thrown to the dogs. His .son became a pri- 
soner within a month, and, being tried at Hereford, was hung on 
a gallows fifty feet high. 

IV. Edward deposed and murdered. 

In this last movement the king appeared utterly forsaken. He 
attempted to rouse the Welsh, and failing to do so, took ship- 
ping for the Isle of Lundy. Contrary winds obliged him to land 
in South Wales, and his necessities to hide in the neighbourhood 
of Neath. Here he fell into the hands of his enemies, by whom 
he was sent to Kenilworth. A parliament decided that Edwan 7 
the prince should be declared king, for that his father was un- 
worthy because of his indolence, incapacity, the loss of Scotland, 
oppression of the church, and cruelty to his barons. A resigna- 
tion having been forced from the unfortunate monarch, a procla- 
mation issued to the effect that Sir Edward, late king of England, 
of his own good-will, and with the advice and consent of his par- 
liament, had put himself out of the government, and had granted 
and willed it to Sir Edward, his eldest son and heir. From 
Kenilworth the deposed king was removed successively to Ccrfe 
Bristol, and Berkeley. Fears began to be entertained by th« 
queen's party of a reaction, occasioned by the growth of a general 
feeling against Isabella's scandalous connection with Mortimer ; 
Edward's fate was now determined on. One night the inmates 
of Berkeley Castle were aroused by horrible shrieks from the 
king's apartment ; the next morning his dead body was exhibited 
for public inspection. The features were much distorted, but no 
marks of violence appeared ; report said that he had been mur- 
dered by thrusting a red-hot iron into his bowels. No investiga- 
tion took place, and the body was conveyed for interment to the 
abbey church, Gloucester. 

Miscellaneous Facts. In 1307, Philip of France suppressed 
the order of Knights Templars, on the ground of their apostasy, 
profligacy, idolatry, and heresv. Having done so inglorious a deed 
nimself, he persuaded Edward, his son-in-law, to do the same. On 
the same day (1312) the whole order was seized in England and Ire- 
land, and put in safe custody. Twelve years later, a statute passed 
placing their lands and tenements in the hands of the o; ,r er of St. 
John, or Knights Hospitallers, by whom they were retained till the 
Reformation. The great house of the Templars in Londcii tell 1A} 
th-j law students in the rei^n of Edward UL 



EDWARD III. 75 

Chbowicle. 1307, Bills of exchange now used 'm England. 1316, 
The burning of coal in London declared to be an intolerable nuisance 
1319, Invention of paper made of rags ; it was made of cotton about 
1000 ; it is said to have been invented in China B.C. 170. 

EDWARD III. 1327-1377. 

Royal Family. Edward III. (1312 — 1377) was the eldest son of 
Edward II. In his thirteenth year he proceeded to Paris to do homage 
to his uncle Charles for the duchy of Ghiienne. Whilst on the 
Continent his mother arranged for his marriage with Philippa ; both 
the mother and son then sailed for England, and Edward, within a 
month, was declared guardian of the kingdom. " The domestic go- 
vernment of this prince is really more admirable than his foreign 
victories; and England enjoyed, by the prudence and vigour ot his 
administration, a larger interval of domestic peace and tranquillity 
than she had been blessed with in any former period, or than sbe ex- 
perienced for many ages after. He gained the affections of the great, 
vet curbed their licentiousness : He made them feel his power, with- 
out their daring, or even being inclined to murmur at it. His affable 
and obliging behaviour, his munificence and generosity, made them 
submit with pleasure to his dominion; his valour and conduct madb 
them successful in most of their enterprises ; and their unquiet spirits, 
directed against a public enemy, had no leisure to breed those dis- 
turbances to which they were naturally so much inclined, and which 
the frame of the government seemed so much to authori e. This 
was the chief benefit which resulted from Edward's victories and 
conquests." 

The consort of Edward was Philippa, daughter of William, count of 
Hainault. The marriage took place at York (1327), the king being 
then engaged on the Scotch borders. As soon as Edward had taken the 
power into his own hands, we find Philippa busy setting up a manufac- 
tory at Norwich for superior cloths, and inviting skilful Flemings over 
to work in it. While her husband was winning the batile of Cressy, 
she raised a force by which a victory was won at Neville's Cross. She 
was not in the battle, but rode to the field and slept on it the same night. 
Immediately afterwards the queen embarked for Calais, and at its sur- 
render is said to have saved the forfeited lives of the citizens. Keturning 
to England, she devoted her attention to the coal mines on her estates in 
Tynedale; from that time the c al trade grew rapidly. This good queen 
died in 1369, after a long illness, and with her ended the good name oi 
Edward, for his court, before so virtuous, became the scene of strife ana 
folly. 

The children of Edward were— Edward, the Black Prince : William 
of Hatfieid, died young : Lionel, duke of Clarence : John of Gaunt, 
duke of Lancaster: Edmund, duke of York: Thomas, aukc of Cxlou* 
tester : and live daughters. 

I. Minority of the King. 

As Edward was a minor, the government fell to a regency, and 
the king's person to the care of the earl of Lancaster, brother of 
the earl executed at Pontef ract. The real power, however, rested 



'6 0DTL1NE8 OF ENGLISH H18TUR1. 

in the hands of Isabella and Mortimer, now the earl of March, 
•3 ut the queen's paramour soon became more unpopular than ever 
for the Scots, after insulting the nation obtained peace nearly on 
their own terms — that the Scottish prisoners should be released, 
the Scottish regalia given up, the claim of feudal superiority re- 
nounced, and the sister of Edward be married to David, son of 
Robert Bruce. Much offended at these concessions and the 
arrogant tone ct the favourite, the earls of Lancaster and Kent 
iieaded a confederacy against him ; it proved a failure, and led to 
the execution of Kent, the kiag's uncle (1330). Edward, dis- 
pleased at his dependent position, sought the assistance of lord 
Montacute ; Mortimer was seized in Nottingham Castle, and the 
next morning a proclamation announced that the king had taken 
the government into his own hands. The earl of March wa.i 
condemned by the parliament for illegally exercising the royai 
power, and executed at Tyburn ; the queen was sent off a pri- 
soner to Castle Risings. 

II. War with Scotland. 

Soon after the treaty of peace Robert Bruce died, leaving the 
throne to David II., a youth in his seventh year. At that peace 
it was agreed that the lands which were held in Scotland by 
English nobles should be restored; as this was not done, Edward, 
6on of John Balliol, and several others resolved (1332) to appeal 
to the sword. With a force of 3,000 men, Balliol won his way 
to the throne in little more than a mo^th ; in another month he 
was driven from his kingdom. Edward had already concluded a 
secret treaty with Balliol, who promised on his part to acknow- 
ledge the feudal superiority of the English king ; and when the 
Scots renewed their inroads into England, hostilities were com 
rnenced against them. During the siege of Berwick the Scots 
received a severe defeat at Halidon Hill (1333) ; as the result of 
this battle Berwick sui rendered, David fled to France, and Balliol 
again became king of Scotland. In the next year Balliol was 
once more a fugitive, for his supporters were oilended at his 
having ceded the southern counties of Scotland to England. 
In 1335, Edward ravaged Scotland, but the cause of his nominee 
was but little aided thereby. After an indecisive warfare foi 
some years, E^lliol retired in despair, and David returned to hit* 
throne (1341). It was fortunate for Scotland that Ed ward's 
ambition had been turned off in the direction of France, for this 
caused the strength of England to be employed on the Continent. 

III. Edward's attempt to conquer France. 
In 1328 died Charles IV. of France, and, as there was no male 



EDWARD III. 77 

heir, Edward put in a claim in right of his mother, the sister of 
Charles. This claim was disallowed by the States of France, en 
the ground that by the Salic law females could not take tfie 
throne ; Philip of Valois therefore became king, and Edward con- 
sented to do him homage for Guienne. But when Philip gave an 
asylum to David of Scotland and furnished assistance to his ad- 
herents, Edward resolved to renew his claim and, assuming the 
title of king of France (1337), concluded alliances with several 
continental princes. Hostilities were first commenced from the 
side of Flanders (1339), but with little success, because of the 
coolness of the allies. In the next year, the English attacked 
the French fleet at Sluys, and rarely has a naval victory been 
more complete or more sanguinary : 230 ships were taken, and 
nearly all the remainder destroyed ; of the English there fell 
4,000 men, of the French 20,000. By land nothing was done, 
for the mercenaries would not fight without pay, and Edward 
had none to give them. During the years 1342 — 3, a dispute 
with regard to the succession to Brittany, opened the way for 
Edward to carry into that part of France an army of 12,000 
men, but here again nothing was done. The earl of Derby 
however won a great victory in Guienne, whereby nearly a 
whole French army was annihilated. 

In 1346, the king sailed from Southampton with a numerous 
army and effected a landing at La Hogue. Pushing up into the 
interior he threatened Paris, and when no French force appeared 
he would have crossed the Seine, but found all the bridges de- 
stroyed. At length a ford was found, and the English were 
crossed over in face of a strong force of the enemy. After a 
day's respite, Edward marshalled his slender army of less than 
10,000 men, which was all he had to oppose the 100,000 coming 
against him. The battle of Cressy had scarcely begun before 
the French fell into confusion, which lost them the day ancj 
30,000 men, besides many persons of distinction. Among the 
latter was John, king of Bohemia, whose armorial ensign of three 
ostrich feathers and the motto "Ich dien" (I serve) was assumed 
by the prince of Wales, who on that day had so greatly dis- 
tinguished himself. In less than a month after this famous 
victory, another was won at Neville's Cross, fox David of Scot- 
land, in alliance with France, had entered England with 30,000 
men and committed great devastation. In this battle, David 
and many of his nobles were made prisoners, and half his army 
siain. After the victory of Cressy, Edward had gone on to 
Calais, which he blockaded by sea and land, but the governor 
turning out all useless mouths, kept the place for eleven months, 
&nd then, there being no hope of its being relieved, it was sur- 



78 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HIST0R7. 

rendered (1347). Most of the natives were expelled, and the 
place repeopled by English colonists ; Calais grew to be acele. 
brated mart for the sale of English merchandise, and was so 
when retaken by the French in 1558. 

Partly by reason of a truce and partly by the Black 1 fen.th, 
which carried off no small part of the people, there were no 
further hostilities till 1355, when the Black Prinoe with an array 
of 60,000 men ravaged the south of France, destroying in seven 
weeks 500 cities, towns, and villages. In 1356, another desolat- 
ing expedition overran the fertile provinces of the central parts 
of France. On his retreat, John the French king confronted the 
prince, five miles from Poitiers, with a force of 60,000 men, 
about four times the number of the English. The French were 
again utterly defeated, and their king made prisoner. John was 
brought to England, and negotiations opened for a peace. The 
French refusing to ratify the treaty, Edward carried over another 
large army (1359), and marched from Calais to Rheims and 
thence to Paris, the suburbs of which he burnt. This led to fur- 
ther negotiations, and the peace of Bretigny (1360), by which 
Edward was to renounce all claims to Normandy and the crown 
of France, receiving on his part the full sovereignty of Guienne 
and Calais, and three million gold crowns as a ransom for the 
French king. The money was not paid, and John died in Eug- 
'and. 

IV. Loss of the English possessions in France. 

The Black Prince, now prince of Aquitaine, governed his 
province with ability till, in an evil hour, he undertook to restore 
Pedro the Cruel to the throne of Castile, from which he had been 
expelled. Entering Spain, he defeated the enemy at Navarette 
(1367), but the tyrant whose cause he had espoused refused to 
pay the cost of the mercenaries, and the prince found himself 
compelled to tax his province to raise funds. Oppressed in this 
way, the Gascons appealed to Charles of France, who thereupon 
summoned Edward to make answer. On his refusal, hostilities 
recommenced, and the prince, after butchering the inhabitants 
of Limoges for admitting a French garrison, returned home tc 
die. One conquest followed another, till of all our possessions 
»n France, there only remained Calais, Bayonne, and Bordeaux, 

Miscellaneous Facts. It had Ions: been the practice of the 
pontiffs to make "provisions'* to many of the best benefices in Eng- 
land, to the injury of the proper patrons and the kingdom generally. 
Hence in this reign it was urged, that livings were given to clergy- 
men out of the kingdom, who knew not the English language, and 
the wealth of the English church was made to support those who 
were unfriendly to it. To put an end to the abuse, the Siatuto cj 



RICHARD II. 79 

Promsirs passed (1344), forbidding any person to bring info the realm, 
or receive, or execute provisions, reservations, or letters of any other 
description, contrary to the rights of the king or his subjects. In the 
next year an act was passed to enforce the observance of this statute, 
by forbidding any appeals being made from the judgment of the 
king's courts to those of the pope. Another improvement of th* j 
reign was the Statute of Treasons (1352), deemed so great a boon that 
the parliament which passed it was called the " blessed parliament." 
It limited treason to seven offences, of which the three principal 
were — compassing the death of the king, levying war within the 
»*ealm, and aiding the king's foreign enemies. 

Chronicle. 1331, Flemish cloth-weavers settle at Norwich. 
i336, Flemish linen-weavers settle in London. 1346, Cannon siid to 
be first used at the battle of Cressy. 1349, Order of the Garter in- 
stituted bv Edward III. First appearance in England of the Black 
Death. 1350, Glazed windows and chimneys came into more general 
use. 1358, Society of Merchant Adventurers formed. 1362, French 
language superseded by the English in all law pleadings. 1368, A 
striking clock set up at Westminster. 1377, Castle of Windsor rebuilt 
in tins reign. 

RICHARD II. 1377-1399. 

Royal Family. Richard of Bordeaux (1366 — 1400) was the son 
of Edward the Black Prince and Joan of Kent. On the death of his 
father in 1376 he was created prince of Wales : the next year he 
came to the throne. A council of regency governed, from which the 
three royal uncles were excluded, and such was the character of 
Richard, that it was not till he had reached his 23rd year that he 
entered upon the government himself. His reign proved an unhappy 
one, more perhaps from the violence of the times than from his own 
misconduct. Hume says, "He appears to have been a weak prince 
and unfit for government, less for want of natural parts and capacity, 
thin of solid judgment and a good education. He was violent in 
temper; profuse in his expense; fond of idle show and magnificence; 
devoted to favourites; and addicted to pleasures." How he ended his 
miserable life is disputed; according to one account he was starved, 
another says he was assassinated in Pontefract Castle, while a third 
asserts that he made his escape to Scotland. 

Thf> first consort of Richard was Anne of Bohemia. She married 
in 1382, and interceding with her husband for those concerned in the 
insurrection, obtained from the people the title of " good queen 
Anne." Ladies, however, remembered her best as having introduced 
horned head-dresses, the modern metal pin, and side saddles. 4.nne 
and her husband's mother were both protectors of WicklifFe, and it 
was her attendants that carried the reformer's works to John Huss 
in Bohemia. Anne died of the pestilence (1394) greatly regretted by 
the English, to whom she had endeared herself by softening the re- 
sentments of the kin sf. 

Hie second consert of .Richard was Isabella ef Valois, daughter ol 
Charles VI. of France. She was married (1396) when a mere child, 
fjid left a widow at the age of twelve. Returning to France, she 
married Charles, duke of Orleans, and died 1409. Richard left no 
5hildren 



SO OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

I. Popular insurrection. 1381. 

The war with France and Scotland which still went on, com- 
pelled the government to levy a capitation tax in 1379, ranging 
from a shilling upwards, according to the rank of the individual. 
This being found insufficient, a poll-tax was granted of a shilling 
per head on all persons above the age of fifteen There was in- 
justice in this, for it made no distinction between the rich and 
the poor. It is moreover certain that at this period there was a 
general feeling of discontent among the villein class, both in this 
country and on the Continent, and it only wanted an occasion, 
such as this tax afforded, to lead to a popular outbreak. An in- 
tolerable insult offered to the daughter of Wat the Tyler, of 
Dartford, brought death to the tax collector who gave the pro- 
vocation, and led to a general rising in the south and east, to the 
number of 100,000. The insurgents to the number of 10,000 
entering London, destroyed the Savoy palace, broke open the 
prisons, and slew many persons of good estate, but plundering 
was strictly forbidden. The } 7 oung king met them at Mile- end 
and promised to grant their demands : — the abolition of slavery, 
the reduction of the rent of land to fourpence an acre, liberty to 
buy and sell in fairs and market towns, and a general pardon for 
past offences These being granted, most of the insurgents 
retired to their homes, but Tyler's party, either dissatisfied or 
doubtful of the king's sincerity, broke into the Tower. On the 
day following, Richard again met the insurgents, when Tyler was 
6truck to the ground by Walworth the mayor, and killed. The 
insurrection was now quelled, but the charters were revoked and 
many hundreds executed. 

II. Misgovernment. 

Before the king came into power he entered Scotland, and as 
a measure of retaliation burnt Edinburgh and other cities (1385). 
The next year Lancaster, who had married a daughter of Pedro 
•■.he cruel, carried an army to the Peninsula to enforce his claim 
to the throne of Castile ; the expedition ended in Lancaster's 
giving his daughter in marriage to Henry, prince of Asturias, the 
heir of Castile. In 1388 the Scots were again in England, and 
defeated by the Pereies at Otterbuim ; this is sometimes called 
the battle of Chevy Chase. Richard was now approaching man- 
hood, and the bad features of his character began to appear 
Governed almost entirely by two favourites, De la Fole, earl of 
Suffolk, and De Vere, created duke of Ireland, dissatisfaction 
prevailed, and the parliament obliged tbe king to dismiss the 
former and allow him to be impeached. Immediately after. tLe 



RICHARD II. 81 

King was deprived of all power, by the formation of a council 
of regeacy, with the duke of Gloucester at its head. This he 
resented, and forming a party, a battle was fought at Radcot 
(1387), which resulted in the ascendancy of the opposition, and 
a charge of treason against the king's favourite. 

In 1.389, Richard was again in power, and for a few years 
there was comparative tranquillity. But the king's marriage 
with a French princess in 1396, threw everything into disorder, 
for, whilst the nation felt disgraced by the cession of some towns 
to France, Richard felt emboldened to take revenge on those 
who formed the opposition. Gloucester was suddenly arrested 
and sent over to Calais, ^vd, as he was reported dead immediately 
afcr, it is supposed iiiat he was assassinated. The earl of 
Arundel was executed, the archbishop of Canterbury banished, 
the earl of Warwick imprisoned for life, and many others con- 
demned to fines and imprisonment. Two only of his principal 
opponents remained, Hereford, the son of Lancaster, and the 
duke of Norfolk. These persons having talked over their chance 
of punishment, Norfolk was accused by Hereford of slandering 
the king ; this the duke denied, and the cause was referred to 
the judgment of wager of battle. When the parties met at 
Coventry, the king forbade the combat, and banished Hereford 
for ten years and Norfolk for life. Richard now raised money 
by forced loans, made the judges dispense the law after his own 
will, and placed seventeen counties out of the pale of the law 
that he might reap a harvest of lines. 

III. Deposition of Richard. 

When Hereford was banished, he received a promise from the 
king that he should not be deprived of his father's estates, but on 
the death of the duke of Lancaster in 1399, Richard seized them 
into his own hands. Hereford, by the death of his father now 
duke of Lancaster, set outfor England, and landing at Ravenspur, 
was joined by the earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, 
and other barons, till in a short time his force amounted to 
60,000 men. The king was in Ireland, whither he had gone to 
avenge the death of Mortimer, earl of March, who had fallen in 
a skirmish with the natives. Lancaster, as the patience of the 
nation was exhausted, found no one to dispute his progress, 
indeed he gave out that he only sought to recover his estate. 
London received him with delight, and York, the regent of the 
kingdom, went over to the usurper with his forces. After some 
delay, Richard landed with a part of his army in Wales, but his 
men deserted him ; in disguise he proceeded to Conway, from 



82 OUTLINES OF KNOL18H HISTORY. 

which place he was enticed, under pretence of a conference wfth 
his cousin of Lancaster. On the way he was made a prisoner, 
and, after a meeting with Henry, conducted to London, where a 
parliament voted his deposition, on the ground of tyranny and 
misgover nruent. The usurper then rose and pronounced these 
words : " In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I, 
Henry of Lancaster, claim this realm of England." Both houses 
admitted his claim, and thus broke the law of succession, for the 
right was in the descendants of Lionel, duke of Clarence. 

Miscellaneous Facts. For the purpose of curbing the papal 
power in this kingdom, and more effectually preventing any evasion 
of the statute of provisors, was an act passed (1393) called the Statute 
of Praemunire which enacted, that " whoever procures at Rome, any 
translations, processes, excommunications, bulls, instruments, or other 
things, which touch the king, against him, his crown, and realm, and 
all persons aiding and assisting therein, shall be put out of the king's 
protection, their lands and goods forfeited to the king's use, and they 
shall be attached by their bodies to answer to the kine." Subsequemly 
a praemunire has been applied to offences of a very different nature. 

In the latter part of the preceding reign there grew up, principally 
through the influence of John Wickliffe (1324 — 84), a sect known as 
Lollards. The movement commenced at Oxford, where Wickliffe 
attacked first the Mendicants, and subsequently the extravagant 
authority of the papal power. Many ot his disciples, called " poor 
priests," travelled the country to spread the doctrines of t'leir master, 
and to recommend the perusal of the Word of God in the vulgar 
tongue, for W T ickliffe had also translated the Scriptures into English, 
regarding them most properly as the foundation of truth, and the 
only source of authority in matters of religion. Why his followers 
were called Lollards is uncertain, though the general opinion is, that 
the term is connected with lullen, to sing with a subdued voice. 

Chronicle. 1380, The translation of the Bible into English by 
Wickliffe. 1381, The English peasantry demand the abolition of 
villenage. 1390, First navigation act, requiring English merchants to 
freight only in English ships. 

Social life in the Plantagenet Period. 

1. Food. But few changes mark this period. The principal 
feature noticed is the extraordinary outlay of the greater barons for 
meat and drink. This was occasioned by the growing custom of the 
principal men gathering round their tables large numbers of retainers, 
and in the rivalry which ensued, the knight endeavoured to outshine 
the baron, the baron the earl, and the earl the king. Both Edward 
II. end III. sought by sumptuary I&wf to restrain this extravagance, 
but they were generally disregarded. At the marriage banquet of 
Richard, earl of Cornwall (1243), 30,000 dishes were served up, and in 
the following century an abbot of St. Augustine set 3,000 before hie 
guests. Thoma3, earl of Lancaster, grandson of Henry III., ex- 
pended in one year 22,000 lbs. of silver in housekeeping ; of wine 
alone, his household consumed in the same period 371 pipes. Richard 
11., it is said, entertained 10,000 persons daily at his tables and such 



JfclCHARD II. 83 

cmbouuaed hospitality wag thought to he necessary, as a means of 
keeping armies of retainers together. The poor man's diet remained 
as before. 

2. Dress. No important change took place in male costume till 
the time of Edward II., when its style was greatly changed. The 
loose tunic now gave way for a close-fitting jacket, which reached to 
the hips, and was confined by a belt ; the sleeves were generally 
terminated at the elbow, from which depended tippets which, in- 
creasing in length, ultimately reached the ground. Snort laced-boots 
were worn, and on the head a capuchin, or hood, of divers shapes, 
ending in a liripipe or long tail. But most remarkable was the intro- 
duction of particoloured dress. The same person appeared with one 
half the hood and tunic, one hose, and one shoe, of a colour strongly 
opposed to the other ; the satirists said, the red side of a gentle- 
man gave them the idea of his having been half roasted, or that he 
and his dress were afflicted by St. Anthony's fire. Flemish beavers 
appear in this period, and for a time were worn over the hood. Lay- 
lawyers begin now to practise, and, not having the tonsure, distinguish 
themselves by wearing the coif, or close hood, first of linen, then of 
silk. 

Down to the reign of Edward II. the female dresses had uncom- 
monly long trains, which trailed far behind in the dirt. The trains 
were now cut off and the skirts made as scant as sacks, so that the 
ladies found some difficulty in walking. Over the robe a short jacket 
was worn, and a cap Jike those of males covered the nead. Altogether 
the dress was compact in appearance, and at a distance barely dis. 
tinguished from that of the other sex. The long plaited tails of the 
preceding period were coiled up round the head, and enclosed in a 
golden caul of network. This improvement was neutralized by the 
ugly wimple, or gorget, a piece of linen or other fabric wound round 
the throat and chin, and pinned up to the ears. Aprons begin to 
appear under the name of lap-cloths; and sarcenet and gauze are 
introduced, the former made by the Saracens, the latter manufactured 
at Gaza. 

3. Dwellings. The building of baronial castles received a check, 
on the accession of Henry II., by an enactment that no residences 
should be fortified without licence from the Crown. From the time 
of Henry III. some trifling conveniences began to grow up, either in 
or about the keep; thus that monarch ordered for his danghter-in- 
law, Eleanor of Castile, that an apartment should be fitted up in the 
castle of Guildford, with a hearth, chimney, and wardrobe, and par- 
ticularly specified that the windows should be glazed. These im- 
provements were carried on more extensively by Edward I. and hie 
successors, by which the feudal fortress began to unite something of 
the magnificence and comfort of the modern palace. Manorial houses 
were still embattled, and enclosed by a moat. The hall was still the 
most remarkable feature, but as yet without chimneys, the smoke 
spending itself in the lofty roof, or escaping through the latticed 
windows. Town houses were characterized by high gables and 
latticed windows. In the houses of the poor there was no change 
But little change took place in the furniture of this period. The 
tables were still on tressels, and chairs used only for state purposes. 

4. Amusements. The latter part of this period was that of the 
tu^hest chivalry. Passages at wms were frequent, and held by pro- 



84 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

clamation before barons* castles. Sometimes a band of knights 
challenged all comers. At the head of this class stood the Tourna- 
ment^ held only on speoial occasions, as coronations, royal marriages, 
national victories, and the like. They lasted for several days, and 
heralds were sent into all lands to invite good knights and true to be 
present. No one but the worthy could engage, and some days pre- 
viously each candidate hung his shield in the next church ; if any 
taint were discovered, he was forbidden to enter the li*ts. A space 
was properly enclosed, and each person sworn to honourable conduct, 
failing which he was driven off the ground with staves. The two 
parties entered the enclosure by opposite gates. After arranging 
themselves, the heralds cried, " To achievements; " they then closed 
their visors, couched their spears, and awaited the trumpet sound to 
charge. Of fighting, there were two kinds : the simplest wao the 
joust, an encounter of single knights ; the second was the melee, or 
pell-mell engagement, in which two groups engaged with battle-axe^ 
swords, maces, and daggers. Wounds were given many and deep ; tha 
fallen knights were drugged off by their pages. At the close of each 
day the heralds proclaimed who were distinguished. Besides this, 
the successful received rewards at the hands ** il ie ladies, occupied ac 
honourable \ lace at the banquet, and had their vniour sung by minstrels 
Out-of-door sports were cour&ing and falconry, which were largely 
partaken of by ladies and the clergy. Indoors were draughts and 
chess, tricks of jugglers, jesters, minstrels, and glee-singers. The pooi 
had their mummings, quoits, foot and handball, and at Christmas 
the feast of fools, in which the churl became a bishop, the buffoon a 
cardinal, and the mob priests ; possession was taken of the churches, 
and the service parodied in a shameful manner. 

HOUSE OF LANCASTER. 

Henry IV., 1399—1413. Henry V., 1413—1422, 
Henry VI., 1422—1461. 

HENRY IV. 1399-1413. 

Royal Family. Henry IV. of Bolingbroke (1366—1413) was the 
son of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster. In his youth he served 
against the Mohammedans in Barbary, and in the Baltic against the 
pagans. His bold and enterprising character made Kicharri regard 
him with jealousy, and take the occasion which presented itself to 
banish him from the kingdom. Th^ popularity of Henry was loot 
90on after his accession, and his reign proved not less unhappy to 
himself than to his subjects. "Numerous plots were formed against 
his life, and most barbarously punished; his parliaments remonstrated 
Tehemently on his bad government; his finances were throughout his 
reign in a deplorable condition ; his grout friends the Perries abandoned 
him ; the Welsh foiled his attacks in person, and the Irish very nearly 
threw off the English yoke." He has the further discredit of punishing 
the Lollards alter having been their patron. 

The consort of Henry was Joanna, daughter of Charles of Navarre 



HENRY IV. 85 

Joanna, at the time of her marriage with Henry (1403), was the 
widow of John, duke of Brittany, who had left her recent of his du«hy. 
This marriage was unpopular in England, as she consulted the interests 
of Brittany more than those of England, and brought many foreigners 
*nto the kingdom. After the death of her husband, Joanna was regent 
uf England while Henry V. was fighting in France. Many sorrows 
now came upon her ; her son the duke of Brittany fought against Henry, 
several of her near relatives fell at Agincourt, and others were brought 
to England as prisoners. Shortly after, she was arrested on the charge 
of sorcery, deprived of all her property, and confined in Pevensey castle 
till the king's death in 1422. J oanna survived 15 years longer, and was 
buried at Canterbury. 

The children of Henry were all by his first wife Mary, daughter of 
the earl of Hereford — Henry, who became king; Thomas, duke of 
Clarence: John, duke of Bedford : Humphrey, duke of Ciloucester : 
Blanche, married Louis, elector palatine : and Philippa, married Eric of 
Denmark. 

L War with Scotland. 

As Robert of Scotland refused to recognise Henry as king, he 
gathered an army and marched to Leith without opposition ; there 
he awaited the arrival of the enemy, till, having consumed all 
their provisions, the English were compelled to retire. In 1402 
the Scots, under earl Douglas, to the number of 10,000, crossed 
the borders, but were defeated at Romildon by Henry Percy, 
surnamed Hotspur ; 800 fell on the field, and many prisoners 
were made, including Douglas and several of the nobility. No 
other event of importance occurred except the capture of prince 
James (1405) while on his way to France, to escape the 
schemes of his uncle, the duke of Albany ; he was detained a 
prisoner in England till 1424. 

II. Rebellion of Owen Glendower. 

Glendower, the great-grandson of the last native prince of 
Wales (Llewellyn), had been in the service of Richard II. ; after 
the dej?i-sition of his master he returned to Wales, and was soon 
in dispute with lord Grey, who had seized some of his lands. 
Gathering a force he invaded the marches, made prisoner Six 
Edmund Mortimer, and, after taking several castles, assumed 
the title of prince of W r ales. His success brought him friends, 
for the Percies were alienated from Henry on account of his 
refusing to ransom Mortimer, whose sister was the wife of 
Hotspur. A confederacy was formed and joined by Dougias and 
a body of Scottish knights ; Mortimer made himself a party to it, 
by marryin^ the daughter of Glendower. Hotspur marching his 
forces to effect a junction with the Welsh prince was intercepted 
at Shrewsbury (1403) ; in the battle which ensued 5,000 of the 
insurgents foil, nd Hotspur with them. The confederacy wa* 



86 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

broken, but Wales with the aid of France held out, and though 
several formidable armies were led against the principality, it did 
not submit till the next reign. The earl of Northumberland, a 
party to the movement in favour of Wales, contrived to excuse 
himself, but in 1405 he engaged in a new conspiracy, and was 
forced to withdraw to Scotland. The other leaders were less 
fortunate, for archbishop Scrope and the earl of Nottingham lost 
their heads. Northumberland made another effort (1408), and 
met with defeat and death at Bramham Moor, near Tadcaster 

III. War with France. 

The king of France alleged that the deposition of Richard put 
an end to the truce between the two countries, so that without a 
formal declaration of war French squadrons swept most of our 
commerce from the seas. On several occasions the French in- 
sulted our coasts and burnt our towns. The English fitted out 
privateers to retaliate, and the channel became a constant scene 
of petty warfare. When Charles VI. sunk into a state of imbe 
cility, the power of the government became a point of contest 
between the dukes of Orleans and Burgundy. At first Henry 
supported the latter, who, by means of a body of English troops 
captured Paris (1411). In the year following Henry changed 
his policy and supported the party of Orleans, but no sooner 
did a reconciliation take place between the rival dukes, than 
they turned their arms against the English, who having first 
ravaged Normandy, withdrew to Guienne. 

IV. Persecution of the Lollards. 

Henry, being a usurper, found it to be his interest to con- 
ciliate the clergy. To do so an act was passed (1401), which 
forbade any one preaching without a licence from the bishop, 
and ordered that persons accused of heretical opinions should 
be tried by the bishop of the diocese, upon whose certificate of 
heresy they were to be handed over to the sheriff to be burned 
1 1? the same year, William Sawtre, a London clergyman, for 
professing to worship Christ rather than the cross on which he 
died, was burned in Smithfield. A tailor, by name John Badby, 
was executed in the same place (1410), for denying the doctrine 
^f transubstantiation. The persecution does not appear to 
have stopped the spread of Lollardism, for in the next reign so 
many were the offenders, that only the principal were com- 
mitted to the flames, the lesser delinquents being subjected to 
whipping or imprisonment. 

Miscellaneous Facts. This ivi£n was distinguished for tho in- 
creasing power of the House of Commons, as seen m its claiming th# 



HENRY V. [ft 

exclusive right of originating money bills ; of discussing public affairs 
without being interfered with on the part of the king; of freedom 
from arrest from the day they left their homes to attend parliament 
till they reached home after its close ; and of being protected from 
undue returns of elections being made by sheriffs in the interest ol 
the court. 

Chronicle. 1401, Commencement of persecution for dissent 
from the church of Koine. 1405, Execution of Scrope, archbishop of 
York, the first instance in England of capital punishment being in- 
dicted on a bishop. 1407, A plague carried off 30,000 persons in 
London. 

HENRY V. 1413-1422. 

Royal Family. Henry V. (1388-1422), the son of Henry IV., 

was born at Monmouth and educated at Queen's College, Oxford. On 
his father's accession he was created prince of Wales, and employed 
in the military operations against the Principality ; subsequently he 
held there the office of Lieutenant. The fact that before he came to 
the throne he was so fully employed, seems to discountenance the 
stories which are told of his early excesses. After his accession, u bis 
abilities appeared equally in the cabinet and in the field ; the boldness 
of his enterprises was no less remarkable than his personal valour in 
conducting them. He had the talent of attaching his friends by 
affability, and of gaining his enemies by address and clemency; and 
his care in maintaining justice in his civil administration, and pre- 
serving discipline in his armies, made some amends to both nations 
for the calamities inseparable from those wars in which his short 
reign was almost entirely occupied." He died at Vincennes of an 
unknown malady, and was brought to England for interment. 

The consort of Henry was Catherine, daughter of Charles VI. of 
France. The marriage took place in 1420 at Troyes; two days after, 
the royal pair set out to conduct a siege. Having given birth, at 
Windsor, to a son, she rejoined her husband in France ; in three 
months he died, leaving her a widow in her 1st year. Some twelve 
months later she contracted a secret marriage with Owen Tudor, a 
Welsh soldier, on duty at Windsor. Of this union came three sons 
—Edmund, Jasper, and Owen. Edmund was created earl of Rich- 
mond, and died at the age of twenty, leaving by his wife, the heiress 
of Somerset, an infant afterwards Henry VII : Jasper, the second 
son, was made earl of Pembroke : the third son died a monk. 

Henry leit but one child, Henry, who beoame king. 

I. Persecution of the Lollards. 

It is believed that the king himself was disinclined to per- 
secution till it was strongly urged upon him that the Lollards 
were unfriendly to the government and to the rights of property. 
He now not only gave way, but permitted Sir John Oldcastle. 
caHed in right of his wife lord Cobliam, and one of his intimate 
friends, to be put on his trial for heresy. This religious reformer 
was condemned to the Barnes, but contrived to escape from the 
Tower and pouJ 1 nowhere be found. The knight is accused o/ 



Bfc OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

being at the head of a conspiracy against the king, and it was 
thought to favour the accusation, that a party of Lollards was 
discovered in St. Giles's-tields at midnight. About thirty of 
theni were executed, though they denied that their meeting had 
auy reference to political matters. Oldeastle kept close in 
Wales till 1418, when he was apprehended and executed by 
being suspended in chains over a tire. 

II. War with France. 

Charles of France was imbecile, and a struggle between the 
houses of Orleans and Burgundy divided the kingdom. The 
opportunity seemed to Henry too favourable to be lost ; he 
tnerefore demanded — the restoration of all the possessions the 
English held in France in the time of John ; the hand of the 
king's daughter in marriage ; and a dower with her of two 
million crowns. To this it was answered, that the French 
government was willing to restore the duchy of Aquitaine, to 
^rant him the princess and a dower of 800,000 crowns. As this 
did not satisfy the ambition of Henry, he revived the claim of 
Edward III., and commenced preparations for enforcing it. 

In 1415 the king joined his army at Portsmouth, but his de- 
parture was delayed by a conspiracy in favour of the earl of 
March, for their part in which the earl of Cambridge and others 
were executed. In August the king sailed with 30,000 men ; 
on landing the siege of Harfleur was formed, and in five weeks 
the place became his. But it was dearly purchased, for a dysen- 
tery had carried off more than half his men ; as nothing further 
could be attempted, he set out with the remainder towards 
Calais. On the plains of Agincourt the French stopped his way 
and a battle ensued, which ended in victory to the English. 
The French, who were more than six times the English in 
number, lost 10,000 men, the English 1,600. After the battle, 
Henry moved on to Calais and thence to London, having com- 
pleted the campaign in little more than three months. 

In 1417 Henry made a second campaign in Fiance, at the 
head of a larger army than before. Caen was taken by storm and 
eacfced, this induced several towns near to send in their submis- 
bion. In the next year Rouen capitulated after a four months' 
siege. Negotiations now opened led to the peace of Troye6 (1420)> 
oy which it was agreed — that Henry should marry Catherine, bo 
regent during the lifetime of Charles, and at his death be the 
possessor of the crown and kingdom of Fiance. Al'ter his mar- 
riage the king returned to England with his bride, but in a few 
months was recalled to France, for his brother, the duke of 
Clare&ce, had met with defeat and death at the battle of Beavy 



HENRY VI. 89 

(1421), where he encountered the troops of the dauphfn, aided by 
the Scotch under the earl of Buchan. Having achieved^ some 
further successes, Henry was smitten with disease, and died at 
the moment when his ambrtion was about to be fully realised. 

Miscellaneous Facts. The army of Henry was to be paid at 
the following rates :— a duke 13s. 4d. per day ; an earl 6s. 8d. ; a baron 
ar banneret 4s. ; a knight 2s. ; an esquire Is. ; and an archer 6d. For 
prizes the following conditions were to be observed: — All prisoners 
were to belong to the captors ; but if they were kings, princes, or per- 
sons holding high commands, they were to belong to the crown, ov 
payment of a reasonable recompence to the captors. Booty takei. 
was to be divided into three parts ; two for the men, and of the re- 
maining third, the leader took two parts, and the king one. 

Chronicle. 1415, London first lighted at night with lanterns, 
1416, Herrings cured after the Dutch fashion, first sold in London. 
1419, Third mayoralty of the renowned Sir Richard "Whittington. 

HENRY VI. 1422-1461. 

Boyax Family. Henry VI. (1421—1471), the son of Henry V., 

was an infant not quite nine months old at the death of his father ; the 
government was therefore committed to Humphrey, duke of Glou- 
cester, the duke of Bedford being charged with the conduct of affairs 
in France. The care of the royal person fell to Richard, earl oi 
Warwick, and cardinal Beaufort, the king's great-uncle. The young 
kiag was crowned at Paris in 1431, and married to Margaret of Anjou 
in 1445. Being of weak mind, the king is scarcely accountable lor 
the course of affairs ; his queen and her favourite ministers, Suffolk and 
Somerset, ruled the nation, and produced that general dissatisfaction 
which ended in the downfall of the king. The death ot Henry is by 
some attributed to the duke of Gloucester, afterwards Richard III. : 
by others to grief occasioned by the capture of his wife and the murder 
of his son at Tewkesbury. 

The consort of Henry was Margaret, daughter of Rend, duke of 
Anjou. At the time of her marriage with Henry she was but fifteen, 
and full of beauty, wit, and masculine energy. Almost from the first 
she was unpopular in England, and misfortune attended both her 
friends and enemies. Before the birth of her only child her husband 
oeeame insane, and the unfortunate condition of affairs that followed 
was attributed to her influence. Becoming a prisoner at the battle of 
Tewkesbury, she endured five years' captivity, and was then released 
on the payment of a ransom by Louis of France. Margaret 
ended her days (1482) in the neighbourhood of Angers, after years oi 
sxcessive grief. 

Henry had but one child, Edward, married, the year before he was 
killed, to Anne, daughter of the earl of Warwick. 

I. Loss of France. 

Only a few weeks after the death of Henry V., Charles VI , 
died ; the infant Henry was therefore proclaimed king of France, 
according to the stipulation in the treaty of Troyes. Bedford, 



(W) OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

equal in abilities to his brother, supported the English interests 
with much success, subsequently the cause of the dauphin, who 
on the death of his father had assumed the title of Charles VIL, 
was strengthened by the defection of some of the allies. In 1425 
Salisbury defeated the French and their Scotch allies at Crevant, 
and in the next year Bedford won another victory at Vemeuil. 
In 1428, the English, proposing to carry the war south of the 
Loire, invested Orleans. Salisbury was killed, but the siege bid 
fair to end successfully, when the English were foiled by the 
agency of a peasant girl of Domremy, by name Joan of Arc. 
This girl professed to be inspired by God to aid the dauphin and 
see him crowned at Rheirns. Her first success was the relief of 
Orleans, not more to the surprise of the inhabitants than to the 
consternation of the English, who believing her to be a sor- 
ceress, became disheartened and raised the siege. Success now 
attended Charles, and he was actually crowned at Rheims as 
Joan had foretold. In 1430 this extraordinary girl was made 
prisoner in a sortie from Compeigne, and being tried by the 
ecclesiastics, was burnt alive at Rouen as a witch. The cause 
of the English was now on the decline, the duke of Burgundy 
fell off, on account of a private quarrel with Bedford, and 
espoused the interests of the dauphin. Moreover the disputes in 
England, between the duke of Gloucester and cardinal Beaufort, 
prevented proper supplies being afforded. After the death of 
Bedford (1435) a succession of English regents acted in France ; 
some successes there were, but one province after another was 
lost till in 1453 nothing remained to the English but Calais. 

II. Cade's insurrection. 1450. 

During the long minority of Henry, affairs in England were 
in a very unsatisfactory condition, owing to the wars in France 
and the contentions between the duke of Gloucester and cardinal 
Beaufort. And the general discontent was increased oy a grant 
of Anjou and Maine to the queen's father, and by the reverse of 
fortune which fell upon our affairs in France. In 1447 Gloucester 
died, or \vas assassinated ; in two months Beaufort followed him, 
leaving the earl of Suffolk the real master of the kingdom. In 
1450 the earl was impeached and banished, but his enemies 
seized him at sea and struck off his head. Rumours circulated 
that the king proposed to punish the men of Kent for this out- 
rage, and as the people were already on the point of rising 
against the government, Jack Cade, an Irish adventurer who as- 
sumed the name of Mortimer, unfurled the standard and was 
soon at thehead of 20,000 men. Encamping on Blackheath.two 
papers were sent to the king, in one the insurgents complained — 



HENRY VL 9l 

that the king had alienated the revenues of the crown ; that he 
allowed men of low raak to be his counsellors and to oppress his 
subjects ; that the sheriffs and other officers were guilty of in- 
tolerable extortions ; and that numerous impediments prevented 
the administration of justice. In the other paper they prayed — 
that the relations of Suffolk be banished, and the principal nobles 
of the land admitted to the king's councils ; and that the mur- 
derers of Gloucester, and those who had occasioned the loss of 
France, be brought to justice. A royal force sent out against 
Cade met with defeat at Seven oaks, the insurgent leader now 
entered London and executed some obnoxious persons. On 
promise of pardon the insurgents retired to their homes ; Cade 
was subsequently killed, and some of his followers executed. 

III. Wars of the Roses, 

As no heir was yet born to Henry, the people naturally turned 
their attention to Richard, duke of York, the son of Anne, 
heiress of the house of Lionel, duke of Clarence. In 1449, York 
was appointed lieutenant of Ireland, and his friends began to 
make open mention of his claim to the crown ; and after the sup- 
pression of Cade's insurrection, that claim was made in the par- 
liament. The duke, too confident, took up arms (1452) on 
pretence of opposing Somerset, now the chief minister ; this 
attempt failed, and the duke for a time suffered imprisonment. 
When the king became insane in 1453, Somerset was deprived, 
and York appointed protector, but on the king's recovery two 
years after, the duke was put out of office and Somerset restored. 

The duke of York now took up arms, and in a battle fought at 
St. Albans (1455) his rival fell, and victory declared for the 
Yorkists ; at the close of the year the king again fell ill, and the 
duke became protector a second time, though only for three 
months. In 1459 an attempt to assassinate the earl of Warwick, 
one of York's supporters, led to a renewal of hostilities. In a 
battle fought at Blore-heath, lord Audley fell and the Lancas- 
trians were defeated ; a month later the opposing forces met at 
Ludlow, but the defection of a part of the Yorkists compelled 
the duke tc retire to Ireland. As the parliament attainted the 
principal Yorkists, they again appeared in arms and defeated the 
royal foices at Northampton (1460), when the king was made 
prisoner, and the queen compelled to flee to Scotland. In the 
same year, the queen with an army from the north defeated York 
at Wakefield ; the duke, his son, and several others lost their 
lives, either in the battle or by the executioner. Edward, the 
youn£ duke of York, was soon in thefield, and defeated Pembroke 
\t Mortimer's Cross (1461) ; Owen Tudor and several other pri- 



92 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORT. 

eoners were beheaded, and Pembroke with hisnephew. afterwards 
Iienry VII., escaped and lived in exile many years. In the same 
year was fought the second battle of St. Albans, in which the 
Yorkists were defeated, but Margaret's troops, for ravaging the 
country, were refused admittance into London. Edward, how- 
ever, entered the capital, and having made his claim in the 
presence of the peers, prelates, and citizens, was proclaimed king. 

Miscellaneous Facts. In the wars of this reign gunpowder was 
in constant use. From the guns and culverins were thrown stone 
balls of more than two feet in diameter, or balls made of lead. Each 
gun was worked by a master gunner, with varlets under him, together 
with masons and carpenters. 

By statute, the sheriffs were ordered no longer to admit the votes 
of ail who came to an election for members of parliament, but to examine 
them upon oath, and to exclude those who did net reside in the county, 
and possess within it a free tenement of the yearly value of forty 
shillings, after the deduction of all charges. 

Chronicle. 1430, Portable or hand firearms invented by the 
Lucquese. 1436, John Guttenburg invented metal types. 1440, John 
Coster prints from wooden blocks. 1453, Fall of Constantinople, and 
the end of the Eastern, or Greek empire, which forces a great number of 
the Greek literati to take refuge in Italy. 1458, Engraving on copper 
invented by a goldsmith of Florence. 

HOUSE OF YORK. 

Edwabd IV., 1461—1483. Edward V., 1483. 

Eichard III. 1483—1485. 

EDWARD IV. 1461-1483. 

Kotax Family. Edward IV. (1441 — 1483) was the son of Richard, 
duke of York, who m the preceding reign had claimed the throne, as 
the representative of Lionel, duke of Clarence, whose heiress had mar- 
ried into the house of York. So far as hereditary right went, the 
descendants of Lionel had claim before those of John of Lancaster, 
but the parliament had settled the question in favour of the Lancas 
trians sixty years before. The same authority now declared the 
Lancastrians usurpers, and Edward the rightful king. Few princes 
have been more cruel and licentious than Edward and much money was 
drawn from his subjects to minister to his personal pleasures. 

The consort of Edward was Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Wood- 
nlle, afterwards earl Rivers, and Jacquetta, widow of the duke of 
Bedford. At the time of her marriage with Edward she was a 
widow, her husband, John Gray, having been slain at the battle of 
St. Albans. As her husband was a Lancastrian, his estates were for- 
feited; Elizabeth begged of the kingf their restoration, and he, being 
won by her modest and delicate beauty, offered her his hand. This 
marriage was unpopular, on account of the rapid advancement of her 
friends to posts of honour and influence. The party in opposition slew 
her lather and brother, and charged her mether with witchcraft. 



EDWARD 17. 93 

Whilst the king was a refugee in Holland, Elizabeth and her familj 
were forced to shelter in the sanctuary at Westminster. After the 
death of her husband she took sanctuary again, and being starved out, 
was reduced to the rank of a private person. On the accession of Henry 
Bhe rose to better fortune. Her death took place in 1492, at the convent 
of Bermondsey. 

The children of Edward were — Edward, who became king! Richard 
duke of York : Elizabeth, married to Henry VII., and other 
daughters. 

I. Civil war continued. 

No sooner was Edward king than he found it necessary to 
march to the north, where the Lancastrians mustered in great 
force. The armies met at Towton (1461), and so sanguinary was 
the contest, that nearly 40,000 were left on the field. Henry and 
his consort escaped to Scotland ; subsequently the latter obtained 
assistance, and marching into England met with defeat at Hex- 
ham (1464). Henry went into hiding in Lancashire, there he 
was betrayed and sent to the Tower ; Margaret and her son with- 
drew to Flanders ; of the prisoners, many were executed and 
their estates confiscated to the king. It was now that Edward 
made public his marriage with Elizabeth Woodville. 

II. Deposition and restoration of Edward. 

As the relatives of the queen rose to rank and influence, the 
earl of Warwick became offended, and, it is said, fomented the 
insurrection of the people of the north. The insurgents de- 
feated the royal forces at Edgecote, near Banbury (1469), on 
which occasion the queen's father and brother were put to death. 
In the following year, Warwick and Clarence his son-in-law were 
denounced as traitors, and, escaping to France, entered into an 
arrangement with Margaret, by the treaty of Amboise, to the 
effect that Warwick's daughter should marry prince Edward, and 
that the earl should undertake to restore Henry VI. On War- 
wick's landing in England, so many joined his standard that 
Edward embarked at Lynn for Flanders, leaving his dominions in 
the hands of the king-maker. Henry was now brought from the 
Tower, but the government rested in Warwick as Protector 
Within six months, Edward with a small force landed at Ra- 
venspur, and was immediately joined by numerous partisans. 
London readily received him, so Edward was again king, and 
Henry replaced in the Tower. Warwick marching on the capital 
was met and defeated at Barnet (1471) ; in this battle the king- 
maker lost his life. On the same day, Margaret landed at Wey- 
mouth, and set out for Wales, where she expected to be joined by 
a numerous force. Edward overtook her at Tewkesbury, in the 
battle which ensued her force was completely defeated, her ton 



94 OUTLINES OF ENGLiSH falSTORY. 

and many others put to death, and herself made a prisoner. On 
the king's return to the capital the dead body of the unfortu- 
nate Henry was publicly exhibited, and a report circulated that 
he had been found dead. 

After the battle of Tewkesbury, the reign is barren of im- 
portant events. Edward, who could not forget the treachery of 
his brother, the duke of Clarence, obtained his conviction for 
high treason : in a few days he was found dead in the Tower 
and report said he had been drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine 

Miscellaneous Facts. This reign is distinguished for the intro- 
duction of the art of printing into England by William Caxton, a 
native of Kent, but who as a merchant had resided several years in the 
Low Countries, where he acquired and practised the new art. Returning 
to England in 1474, he set up a press in the Almonry at Westminster, 
from which he sent forth more than sixty works. 

The following singular piece of legislation is not the only one of 
its kind — no man or woman under the estate of a lord to wear cloth 
of gold, or cloth wrought with gold, or furs of sables; no person 
under the estate of a knight to wear velvet, or silk like to velvet or 
satin, or furs of ermine ; no yeoman to wear stuffing in his doublet, 
but only the lining; and no one under the estate of a lord to wear 
gown, jacket, or cloak, which did not reach to his thighs, or shoes with 
pikes above two inches in length. The purpose of this law was to 
prevent the impoverishing of the realm by sending money into strange 
countries in exchange for articles of luxury. 

Ckkokicle. 1461, Incorporation of the company of barber sur- 
geons. 1473, Royal chapel built at Windsor. 1474, Printing intro- 
duced into England by William Caxton. 

EDWARD V., 1483; and RICHARD III., 1483-1485. 

Royal Family. Edward V. (1470—1483), the son of Edward IV.' 
was born in the Sanctuary, Westminster, during the exile of his 
father. He came to the throne at the death of Edward IV., and, after 
being a nominal sovereign for less than three months, was with his 
brother Richard, duke of York, disposed of, but whether murdered 
b y Richard III. has never been determined. In 1674, whilst digging 
in the Tower, a chest was found containing the bones of two youths, 
ap parently about the age of the princes ; it was taken for granted that 
thfci y were the remains of Edward and his brother, and therefore received 
interment in Westminster Abbey. 

Richard III. (1450 — 1485), son of Richard, duke of York, was by his 
brother Edward IV. created duke of Gloucester, and placed in many 
important offices. To him is attributed the murder of Henry VI., 
and it is certain that he took a leading part in the destruction of his 
brother, the duke of Clarence. After the death of Edward IV. he 
ordered the execution of lord Hastings and others, and is moreover 
charged with procuring the death of his two nephews. Y'et he was not 
unpopular, and many good laws were passed in his short reign. 

The consort of Richard was Anne, daughter of Warwick the king- 
maker. In ber 17th year she married Edward, son of Henry VI., and 



KDWARD IV. AND R1C1IARD Hi. U6 

Was Tnth him when he was murdered at Tewkesbury. Anne was then 
put out of the way under the direction of the duke of Clarence, who 
sought to koep her out of the hands of his brother of Gloucester. After 
some time she was discovered acting as a menial servant in London, 
and forced to marry Richard. Under the constant apprehension tha* 
her husband would remove her, to enable him to wed Elizabeth of York, 
her health gave way, and she died a few months before the king fell at 
Bosworth. 

I. Deposition of Edward. 

On the death of Edward IV. the party in opposition to the 
Woodville family secured the appointment of Gloucester as Pro- 
tector of England. The young king was seized while on his way 
from Ludlow, his place of residence, and his principal supporters 
sent to Pontef ract and executed. Meanwhile the queen and her 
other children had taken shelter in the Sanctuary. Lord Hast- 
ings, suspecting, as is supposed, the designs of Richard, was 
seized while at the council in the Tower, and beheaded. From 
this time the duke's designs became apparent. He obtained pos- 
session of the person of the young duke of York, and he directed 
a Dr. Shaw, in a sermon preached at St. Paul's Cross, to throw 
doubt on the legitimacy of his brother's children. Two days 
subsequently, he with a feigned reluctance consented to take the 
crown, a petition from several nobles and gentlemen having re. 
quested him to do so. 

II. The troubled reign of Richard III. 

In a few months after Richard's accession, plots began to form 
against him, the first headed by the duke of Buckingham, one of 
his former supporters. The object proposed was to place Henry, 
earl of Richmond, on the throne, on the condition of his marry- 
ing Elizabeth of York ; this arrangement, 3t was thought, would 
effectually end the rivalry of the two houses, and secure the quiet 
of the kingdom. But Buckingham was first delayed l»y the flood- 
ing of the Severn, and then betrayed by some of his dependants; 
his life was forfeited, and his followers compelled to go into hid- 
ing, or escape to Brittany. The earl of Richmond attempted a 
landing in Dorset (1483), but the state of the weather made it 
prudent to retire to Norm an dy. In 1485 the queen died and 
Richard made proposals to unite himself to Elizabeth of York, 
this made Richmond hasten his preparations for another expedi- 
tion. Sailing from Harfleur (Aug. 1), he reached Milf ord H aven 
(Aug. 7) ; in his march through Wales he gathered but few ac 
cessions, so that when he read ed Shrewsbury his force numbered 
only 4,000 men. Meantime tne king had collected a numerous 
pjrmy at Leicester, but a part of it was tainted ; indeed, it would 



y»5 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORT. 

have been madness in Henry to think of giving battle, had ht 
not been assured of treason in the king's camp. At Bosworth 
the Stanleys fought on Henry's side, and Northumberland held 
his troops neutral. Eichard fell, and his crown was placed on 
the head of Richmond, with shouts of " Long live king Henry!" 
The dead body of Richard was conveyed to Leicester, and in- 
terred in the Greyfriars monastery. 

Miscellaneous Facts. " Brief and troubled as was the period of 
Richard's rule, several matters justly considered as of great importance 
at the present day date from it. The statutes of his parliament are the 
first that were drawn up in the English language, as they were also the 
first that were printed ; the office of consul, so necessary to the interests of 
merchants and travellers abroad, was established by him ; and that great 
engine of modern convenience, the post office, is based on a system of 
couriers established by him for the rapid transmission of intelligence, 
during his campaigns in Scotland in 1481-2." 

Chronicle. 1483. The population of England stated at 4,600,000. 
Statutes first printed. Post horses and stages first established. 1484, 
The sweating sickness appears first in England. 

Social life in the Lancastrian and Yorkist Period. 



1. Food. Among the better classes, the two meals introduced at 
the Conquest had now increased to four ; breakfast at seven, dinner at 
ten, supper at four, and livery (a meal taken in bed) between eight and 
nine. The meals were of a substantial character ; thus an earl and his 
countess had for breakfast during Lent — a loaf, two manchetts (rolls of 
be3t flour), two quarts of beer and wine, two pieces of salt fish, six dried 
herrings, and four white herrings, or a dish of sprats; when not fish 
days, boiled mutton or beef took its place. For the livery there were 
served — two manchetts, a loaf of bread, gallon of beer, and a quart of 
wine, the latter warmed and spiced. These two meals were private, the 
public meal was the dinner. Then the hall tables were covered to pro- 
fusion with flesh, fish, and fowl. At the head of the table sat the lord 
on a raised dais, his friends and retainers sat above or below the salt, 
according to rank. The food was still eaten with the fingers, and the 
drink handed round in wooden or pewter vessels. This meal usually 
lasted three hours, the pauses being filled up with harpers, tumblers, 
and jugglers. Feastings were of extraordinary magnitude; thus when 
George Neville, brother of Warwick, the king-maker, was inducted intc 
his office as archbishop of York, his feast contained of solids, 104 oxen. 
6 wild bulls, 1,000 sheep, 304 calves, and as many swine, 2,000 pigs, 600 
stags, and 204 kids ; of fowls and birds, wild and tame, there were 
22,512. Besides there were mountains of fish, pasties, tarts, Ac; the 
bread and pastry consumed 300 quarters of wheat. In the shape of 
drinks were used 300 tuns of ale and 100 tuns of wine. 

2. Dress. The changes in male costume during the 15th century 
were not many. Edward IV. introduced the short jacket, and in the 
same reign commenced the practice of slitting the doublet, to show the 
fine linen «hirt ^ene*th ; this led to the slashing and puffing in 



LANCASTRIAN AND YORKIST PERIOD. 97 

the next century. This period saw also a kind of cap for gentlemen, 
with a yard-long tippet pendent from the side; as also clogs with high 
heels and long peaks. Edward IV. renewed the sumptuary law, fixing 
the cost of clothing an agricultural servant at 3s. 4d., and so upwards 
for all the other classes. 

Females now wore their hair in large blocks on each cheek. There 
came in also the horned head-dress, formed by two curved wires 
passing above the head; over these horns was thrown a light veiL 
When this passed away, steeple caps were worn as high as chimney-pots. 
Trains were now wholly discarded, and the narrow skirts trimmed with 
fur. 

3. Dwellings. The old castles were still kept up, but no new ones 
built. Castellated mansions date from the middle of the 15th century^ 
in which the details of domestic architecture blend with towers and 
turrets. The use of bricks was now reintroduced. In some cases the 
town houses of the nobility were built of stone, but the greater number 
of wood framing merely, filled in with plaster. Their immense extent 
may be gathered from the fact that the earl of Warwick could lodge 
600 men in his house in Warwick-lane. The yeomen and peasants still 
dwelt in rude structures of wattles and clay, without chimneys, and 
rarely with a window. Everything in the shape of furniture was poor 
and rude. Beds were rare, tables and seats clumsy, glass windows very 
scarce, and the fittings of doors and windows quite open, by which a 
plentiful supply of air was admitted. In the 14th century, hangings 
had been partly superseded by the practice of painting the walls with 
historical and Scripture subjects ; in the 15th, a return was made to the 
more comfortable mode of tapestry, which being mostly made at Arras, 
was so cailed. 

4. Amusements. The sports of the gentry continued as in the 
preceding period, with an exception or two. Tournaments declined, as 
there was more than a reasonable amount of real fighting to be done ; 
and running, wrestling, and throwing spears, were thought better 
fitted for the poorer classes than for their superiors. The outdoor 
amusements of the poor were little altered, except that there was more 
of quarter-staff and archery, the former was more than five feet in 
length, and came to be skilfully used by the English. Edward IV. 
enforced archery, ordering that every Englishman should have a long- 
bow of his own height, that in every township butts should be set up, 
and that every one should practise on feast days, on penalty of a 
halfpenny. 

Within doors, the principal amusements were religious and secular 
plays. The secular plays were mostly extemporized by itinerant 
buffoons, who performed in courtyards, or the kitchens of hostelries. 
The religion plays were either miracles or mysteries. The latter came 
to be the most common, and consisted of either a portion of sacred 
history, or the entire from the creation to the judgment. At first theas 
sacred dramas were performed in churches, by the priests, and theiy 
assistants, clothed in their proper vestments. An exhibition of ihis 
kind which took place in London (1409) included the greater part of 
the sacred history, and was eight days in acting; most of the nobility 
and gentry of the realm attended. The manner in which the represen- 
tations were performed must have been injurious to public morals, 
The stage consisted of three platforms of different heights. On thi 



OO OUTLINES OF ENGLISH EISTOAY. 

highest sat & representation of the 8uoreme Being, surrounded by 
angels; on :he second, saints and glorified men; on the third, the 
actors. On one side of the lowest platform was a pit lepresenting th-a 
mouth of hell whence issued shrieks, fire, and smoke. This yielded the 
favourite part of the amusement, for out of it came forth troops of merry 
devils, who kept the audience in a roar of laughter by their buffoonery, 
and the treatment they gave such as fell into their hands. Later, th6 
profanity was lessened by the removal of the two higher stages, and 
moralities were substituted for mysteries. These, r.fter the Reformation, 
gave way to the regular drama. 

HOUSE OF TUDOR. 

Henry VII., 1485—1509. Edward VI., 1547—1553. 

Henry VILL, 1509—1547. Mary, 1553— 15o3. 

Elizabeth, 1558—1603, 

HENRY VIL 1485-1509, 

Royal Family. Henry, son of Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond, 
and Margaret, daughter of John Beaufort, duke of Somerset, was born 
in Pembroke Castle (1456) ; his father dying the same year, he was 
committed to the care of his uncle Jasper, earl of Pembroke. After the 
battle of Tewkesbury (1471), he was removed from this country to 
Brittany, where he was joined by the friends of his house. Henry pos- 
sessed both ability and courage, and his reign was one of advantage to 
England, but he foolishly provoked insurrections by his hatred of the 
house of York, and wronged his subjects by extortions to satisfy hia 
avarice. He died of consumption at Richmond, and was interred in 
the beautiful chapel at Westminster which bears his name. 

The consort of Henry, Elizabeth of York, the daughter of Edward 
IV., was born at Westminster in 1466. Her early life was not without 
frial, for on the death of her father, she, her mother, and relatives 
Deing forced to take shelter in a sanctuary, were starved into a surrender. 
After refusing the hand of Richard 111., she was held as a kind of 
prisoner at Sneriff Hutton, from which place Henry ordered her removal. 
In January 1486 she became the wife of the king, and was crowned 
after the battle of Stoke. Henry appears to have proved himself a 
tolerably kind husband, notwithstanding what has been said to the 
contrary. After many years of sickness and self-denial, Elizabeth died 
(1503) in the Tower, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. 

The children of Henry were — Arthur, prince of Waleij, married 
Catherine of Arragon, and died 1502: Henry, who became king: 
Margaret, married (I) James IV. of Scotland, (2) Doc^-las, earl of 
Angus, (3) Stuart, lord Methven: and Mary, married [\) Louis XII. 
of if ranee, (2) Charles Brandon, duke of Sullolk. 

I. Henry's title to the crown, 

Through his mother Margaret, Uenry was descended from 



HEKRY YIL 99 

John of Gaunt, the fourth son of Edward III. ; this descent 
constituted his chief claim to the crown of England, but there 
was a fatal objection to it, for it was an illegitimate stock. His 
second claim was that of conquest, but all parties objected to 
its being put forward. A third claim there was, growing out 
of his proposed marriage with Elizabeth, the heiress of the house 
of York, and much as Henry disliked it, it formed after all the 
only one of real value. For in consideration of this union of 
the representatives of the houses of York and Lancaster, the 
parliament agreed that the crown of England should rest and 
abide in the king and his lawful heirs. 

II. Lambert Simnel's insurrection. 1487. 

Had Henry acted wisely he would have sought to heal the 
deadly rivalry that existed between the two factions ; instead of 
doing so, he exasperated the Yorkists by his marked aversion to 
that party. The consequence was, lord Lovell and others 
headed an insurrection against him (1486) ; it was soon put 
down, but a more formidable insurrection appeared in the next 
year. Lambert Simnel, a youth under the tutelage of Simons, 
a priest, landed in Ireland, where he represented himself as the 
earl of Warwick (son of the duke of Clarence, brother of 
Edward IV.). As the Irish were friendly to the Yorkists, the 
impostor was favourably received, and through the influence of 
the lord deputy crowned at Dublin as Edward VI. Henry, on 
receiving the news, brought out the real earl from his prison, 
and ordered him to be led through the streets of London. But 
this did not stay the movement, the earl of Lincoln, nephew of 
Edward IV., lord Lovell, and 2,000 soldiers, supplied by the 
duchess of Burgundy, sister of Edward IV., joined the insur- 
gents. Leaving Ireland, the forces landed at Furness, and moved 
in the direction of Newark. Henry gave them battle at Stoke, 
in which about half the insurgents were slain, together with 
most of the leaders. Simnel being made a prisoner, was placed 
in the king's kitchen ; the princip.il persons implicated in the 
insurrection were punished by heavy fines* 

III. War with France. 1492. 

Brittany, the last of the great independent fiefs of France, had 
been for years in a state of anarchy, and having given offence to 
France was attacked ; thereupon the old duke, the same that had 
afforded an asylum to Henry, besought aid from England. The 
English king sent over a force, though without any intention of 
acting against France. At this juncture the old duke died, leav- 
jag Anne his daughter heiress to the duchy. In 1490 she con- 



IW OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

eented to espouse Maximilian, king of the Romans ; upon this 
Charles VIII. of France entered Brittany with an army, and 
having shut up the princess in the city of Rennes, informed net 
that she must either be his wife or his prisoner. Anne chose the 
former. Henry was displeased to find he had been outwitted, 
and first levying a benevolence on his subjects, he carried over a 
force of 26,000 men, and sat down before Boulogne. But this 
was all a sham, for in a few days a treaty was concluded between 
the kings of France and England at Estaples, by which Henry 
agreed to withdraw his forces, on the promise of a payment of 
£149,000. Thus the king made profit upon his subjects for the 
war, and upon his enemies for the peace. 

IV. Perkin Warbeck's insurrection. 

During the dispute between Henry and Charles, a youth whos6 
real name is said to have been Perkin Warbeck, the son of a 
Fleming, but who called himself Richard, duke of York 
(brother of Edward V.), landed at Cork, whjre he was favourably 
received. Before he had been long in Ireland, Charles of France 
invited him to his court, and treated him as if he were a real duke : 
his object was to compel Henry to conclude the treaty of 
Estaples ; when that was done, Perkin was sent off as being of 
no further use. Margaret of Burgundy afforded him an asylum, 
and professing to believe that he was her nephew, called him 
" the White Rose of England." As some of the English gave 
credence to his story, Henry became alarmed, and sent over Sir 
Robert Clifford to make inquiries. In consequence of his report, 
several persons were executed for favouring the impostor, and 
among others Sir William Stanle}', who had saved Henry's life 
at Bosworth. To procure the dismissal of the pretender from 
Flanders, Henry suspended the commerce between the two 
countries. Warbeck now with a band of followers landed at 
Deal (1495), but was beaten off with the loss of nearly 200 men ; 
he then went to Ireland, and besieged Waterford with as little 
success. Returning to Flanders, he was compelled to leave that 
country in 1496, and after failing to interest the people of Cork 
in his favour, set sail for Scotland. James IV. received him 
with favour, and gave him lady Catherine Gordon, his kinswoman. 
in marriage ; with the assistance of the Scots he entered 
England and ravaged the country without mercy. 

This inroad gave Henry an excuse for demanding a tabsidy 
which the Cornish men refused to pay, on the ground that the 
people of the north were bound to defend the country against the 
Scots. Some 16,000 of the insurgents ;set out to petition the 
king, and being joined by lord Audley, uade their way in hostiie 



HENRY VII 101 

array to Blackheath. Being defeated at Deptford (1497), the 
ringleaders were executed, and the common people that survived 
sent home. Meanwhile the Scots had made a second inroad, 
which was followed by a truce between the two countries. 
Warbeck, being now obliged to quit Scotland, repaired first to 
Ireland, and thence, by invitation, sailed to Whitsand Bay, near 
Penzance. With 3,000 that joined his banner, he laid siege to 
Exeter ; despairing of success, he deserted his followers to take 
sanctuary at Beaulieu. On promise of pardon the pretender 
surrendered, but subsequently attempting to escape from his 
keepers, he was committed to prison. In 1499 both Warbeck 
and the unfortunate earl of Warwick were executed on the 
charge of attempting to seize the Tower. 

Miscellaneous Facts. The whole of this reign was characterized 
by extortion, whereby Henry gratified his avarice and his hatred of the 
house of York. Two lawyers, Empson and Dudley, found full employ- 
ment in fleecing the people of England ; at the death of Henry 
there was money in his coffers to the amount of nearly two millions. 
The payment of the fines levied was enforced by an institution 
reconstructed in this reign, called the Star Chamber. This court took 
cognizance of offences by maintenance, liveries, and retainers ; untrue 
returns of sheriffs; taking money by juries; and great riots and 
unlawful assemblies. Considering the condition of the country on the 
accession of Henry, this court wan useful in some points, though it soon 
grew to be tyrannical ; it had not the power of life and death, but could 
tine men to their ruin. 

As it was the policy of Henry to reduce the overgrown power of 
the nobles, he strictly enforced the old "statutes of livery," which 
made it unlawful to keep any liveried retainers, except those who were 
employed in the household. Before this reign some of the peers had 
kept thousands of men in their pay, to be in readiness to fight out their 
quarrels. But Henry would no longer allow this, he even fined his 
friend the earl of Oxford 15,000 marks for breaking this law. The 
power of the nobles was further reduced by the action of the " statute 
of fines," which made a surer way for the alienation of their estates ; 
much land now passed into the hands of wealthy commoners. Both 
these changes led to the increase of the class of free labourers, and thus 
helped in the decline of villenage, which from this time went rapidly to 
decay. Society was improved by restricting the " benefit of clergy; " 
from this time persons not in orders, who were admitted to the privilege, 
Jpere branded on the thumb, so as to prevent their escaping justice a 
second time. 

It was in this reign that maritime discovery proved so eminently suc- 
cessful. In 1492, Christopher Columbus, a Genoese, in the service of 
Spain, discovered the West Indies ; in 1498 he discovered the main land 
of America. Meanwhile Vasco de Grama had doubled the Cape of Good 
Hope (1497), and opened up a new route to India, which brought the 
lucrative trade of the East within reach of the nations of Western 
Europe. Henry was not altogether unmindful of commerce, for he 
incorporated an old company, wader the ntune of Af srchant Adventurers. 



102 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTOBF 

He also patronized Sebastian Cabot, a merchant of Bristol, who made a 
voyage of discovery, and fell in with Newfoundland, and in 1497 coasted 
down the sea-board of North America. 

Chronicle. 1486, Henry institutes a body-guard of fifty men. 
known as Yeomen of the Guard. 1489, Maps and sea-charts brough. 
to England by the brother of Columbus. 1505, The right of Sanctuary 
timited, so Uiat persons could not benefit by it a second time. 

HENRY VIII. 1509-1547. 

Royal Family. Henry, son of Henry VII., was born at Green- 
wich, 1491. In his first year he was created duke of York. He 
received a learned education, his father, so it is said, designing him tor 
the archbishopric of Canterbury. The death of his brother in 1502 
made him prince of Wales. Raised to the throne in his nineteenth year, 
he became at once popular, partly for his handsome person and jovial 
manners, and partly from the joy of the people at being released from 
trhe oppressive rule of his father. During his reign he distinguished 
himself by much interference in continental affairs, and at home by the 
harshness of his government. On religious grounds he executed both 
those who favoured and those who opposed the Reformation; and such 
was the rigour of his general government that 72,000 persons were exe* 
cuted during his reign. His private character was of the worst kind. 
" Yet with all his vices, he was the instrument of good to posterity, . . . 
for his hand overthrew the power which had long denied to England a 
Bible and Service-book in the common tongue, and had endeavoured to 
render the word of God of none effect by its traditions." Henry died at 
Westminster of a complication of painful diseases, and was interred at 
Windsor. 

The consorts of Henry were — (1) Catherine of Arragon (1485 — 1536), 
daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. She married first prince 
Arthur, who died fi>e months after; the young widow then removed to 
Croydon. Within six weeks from the accession of Henry he married 
his brother's widow, though some of the council thought it improper. 
For many years they lived happily together, but as her personal charms 
wore away, Henry professed to entertain scruples about the legality of 
their union. After a process which lasted six years, she was divorced 
and her title changed to that of princess dowager of Wales. Three 
years later she died at Kimbolton, and was buried in Peterborough 
Abbey. Catherine was characterized by firmness, sweetness of temper, 
and deep piety. 

(2) A.nne Boleyn (1501 — 1536), daughter of Sir Thomas Boieyn, and 
niece of the duke of Norfolk. When about thirteen she became maid 
of h( nour to Mary Tudor, who married Louis XII. ; after the return 
of Mary to England, Anne remained behind, and acquired in the French 
court a levity of manner, which at first gave pleasure to Henry, but in 
th^ end proved her ruin. At the end of five years' courtship the king 
married her (1533), before the divorce of Catherine had been pro- 
nounced. WheR Henry's affections fell on Jane Seymour he opened 
his ear to the accusations of slander; the queen was sent off to the 
Tower, and beheaded on a false charge of unfaithfulness. Anne was 
favourable to the Reformation, and aided the circulation of the Scriptures, 
but she was also ambitious, and unfeeling in some respects to the unfor- 
tunate Catherine. 



HENRY VIII. lOH 

(3) Jane Seymour, the daughter of Sir John Seymour. Of her 
youth and education we know little, except that she resided a time in 
France. Becoming maid of honour to Anne Boleyn, she secured the 
affections of the king, whom she married the morning after the ex ecu* 
tion of her mistress. Her coronation was delayed because of the pesti« 
lence, and never took place. She died in 1537, thirteen days after th« 
birth of her son (Edward VI.), and was buried at Windsor, having been 
married but eighteen months. The character of Jane is thought to have 
been affected by her French training, for she supplanted her predecespp* 
without any appearance of feeling. 

(4) Anne of Cleves, the daughter of John, duke of Cleves. His 
eldest sister had married the elector of Saxony, the champion of the 
Reformation, and Anne was recommended to Henry by Cromwell, with 
the hope that the union would strengthen the Protestant interest* 
Landing at Deal, she went on to Rochester, where she m« t Henry ; he 
at once disliked her, and to add to their embarrassment Anne spoke 
no English, and Henry no Dutch. The king nevertheless put " his 
neck into the yoke " (1540) ; in six months he obtained from the 
parliament a dissolution of the marriage. She was allowed a pension, 
and lived friendly with the court till her death at Chelsea (1557). Anne 
was generally beloved, and is spoken of as patient, charitable, and 
religious. 

(5) Catherine Howard, the daughter of lord Howard, and niece of 
the duke of Norfolk. Her mother dying young, Catherine was com- 
mitted to the care of the duchess of Norfolk, who allowed her to asso- 
ciate with the servants ; and though it became known that an impropei 
intimacy existed, her relative took no effective measures to stop it, 
Gardiner brought her into contact with Henry, who, much pleased with 
the little lady, appointed her maid of honour to Anne of Cleves. "Wifciin 
a few days of the divorce of her mistress, Henry married her (1540). 
Reports of her early indiscretions were soon in circulation, and though 
for a time the king refused to notice them, he at length ordered all 
parties to be arrested. In 1542 the parliament passed a bill of attainder 
against the queen and her confederates ; she confessed her guilt, and 
suffered with the others the extreme penalty. 

(6) Catherine Parr (1513— 1548), the daughter of Sir Thomas Parr. 
She was born in Kendal Castle, and instructed in the ancient and 
modern languages. Her first husband, lord Borough, left her a widow at 
fifteen. Five years after she married lord Latimer, who died in 1543. 
About this time she embraced the reformed religion, and her house 
became the resort of Cranmer, Latimer, and others. Sir Thomas Seymour 
now wooed her, but Henry demanded her hand, and she was forced to 
submit, Her position as the consort of the king was one of peril, for 
Henry had become a savage in temper, and Gardiner made an attempt to 
arrest her for heresy. When Henry died she gave her hand to Seymour, 
by whom she was barbarously treated. Her death took place at Sudeley 
Castle. 

The children of Henry were — Mary, by Catherine of Arragon; 
Elizabeth, by Anne Boleyn ; and Edward, by Jane Seymour. 

I. First war with France and Scotland. 1512—1514. 
Henry was drawn into this war by Ferdinand, his father-in 
law. Julius the pope had in 1508 formed the league of Cambraj 



104 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

for the purpose of recovering some church lands from the 
Venetians ; having succeeded, he proposed to himself to clear 
Italy of the French. For this purpose a " holy league " was 
formed (1510), which included Maximilian, Ferdinand, and 
Henry. The English king was persuaded to demand of Louis 
the possessions which this country formerly held in Guienne, this 
being refused, war was declared. By the advice of Ferdinand, ac 
English army under the Marquis of Dorset landed in Guipuscoa 
(1512), where it was tc have been joined by a Spanish force, and 
an advance made into France. But the wily Ferdinand em- 
ployed the favorable opportunity to conquer Navarre, and 
Dorset after waiting six months found he had been duped, there- 
upon the expedition returned greatly diminished by disease. In 
the same year Sir Edward Howard ravaged the French coast, 
and fought a drawn battle off the coast of Bretagne. Howard 
fell the year after, in an attempt to destroy the French fleet, 
near Brest. 

In 1513, Henry with 25,000 men crossed over and sat down 
before Terouenne. The French attempting to relieve it were 
shamefully defeated, for by reason of a panic, 10,000 French 
cavalry ran from a few hundred English and German horse; this 
affair at Guienegate is known as the " battle of the spurs." 
Terouenne now surrendered, as did also Tournay, of which place 
Henry appointed Wolsey bishop. While these events were 
transpiring, James of Scotland, listening to the envoys from 
France, marched a large army into England, and after some 
success was met by the earl of Surrey, at the head of the 
English. At Fiodden Field a terrible battle was fought, in 
which there fell of the Scots 10,000 men, together with king 
James and the chief of the Scottish nobility. For this victory 
Surrey was created duke of Norfolk, his son lord Howard sue 
ceeding to his father's title. 

In 1514, the French burnt Brighton and ravaged the coast of 
Sussex. Peace immediately followed, Louis agreeing that the 
English should keep Tournay ; that he would pay to Henry a 
million crowns ; and that he would marry Mary, the sister of 
Henry. Three months after the marriage Louis died, and his 
widow married Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk. 

II. Cardinal Wolsey. 

From this time Wolsey became the prime mover in the affairs 
of this country. Born at Ipswich in 1471, of wealthy parents, 
and educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, by his talents he soon 
rose to offices of trust. After being employed by Henry VII., he 
was retained by the son, and, holding many high offices in the 



HENRY VIII. 1C5 

church besides being chancellor, appeared for several years to 
dispose of the affairs of Europe almost at his pleasure. His 
talentf or intrigue soon found full employment. Francis, the new 
king of France, proposing to invade Italy, Leo the pope made 
Wolsey a cardinal to secure his interest ; and Francis by means 
of a bribe secured the same interest in favour of a new treaty. 
But his importance appeared more fully after the death of Maxi- 
milian in 1519, for the kings of France and Spain became 
competitors for the imperial crown, and when it was decided in 
favour of Charles, both parties in prospect of hostilities made their 
court to Wolsey. Meetings took place between Charles and 
Henry, and subsequently between Henry and Francis, the latter 
in 1520, near to Guisnes ; from the gorgeous display, the place of 
meeting was called "the Field of the Cloth of Gold." The great 
object, it is said, which the cardinal aimed at was the preservation 
of the balance of power between France and Austria ; but there 
is little doubt about his attention to his own interest in all this. 

III. Second war with France and Scotland. 

Charles the emperor desiring to regain Burgundy, had secured 
the interest of Wolsey by some promise of aiding him to obtain 
the papal tiara. And as Henry thought he had a claim on the 
crown of France, he was easily persuaded to join his nephew ; 
war was therefore declared (1522), and an army under Surrey 
sent over to ravage the north of France. In 1523 another army 
under Suffolk desolated the country up to the vicinity of Paris. 
The Scots incited by Francis made large preparations forcrossing 
the borders, but the regent Albany delayed, and Surrey entering 
Scotland devastated the marches and burnt Jedburgh ; Albany 
now withdrew to Fiance, and a truce was concluded (1523) 
which lasted eighteen years. In the same year pope Adrian died, 
and as Wolsey proved an unsuccessful candidate, nis zeal for the 
cause of the emperor began to cool. In 1525 Francis, defeated 
at Pavia, became a prisoner to Charles ; it was now proposed to 
invade France with a large force, but the English resisted tne 
attempt to levy a subsidy without consent of parliament. Nego- 
tiations were then opened with France and an alliance concluded 
f 1526), which gave offence to the emperor. 

IV. Henry divorces Catherine. 

It is not certain when Henry first entertained scruples with 
regard to his marriage with the widow of Arthur. So early as 
1524 he is said to have separated from her, but it was not till 
three years after, that he applied to the pope ; a commission was 
thereupon granted to cardinals Wolsey and Campegius, who held 



iOQ OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

their court in London. But before anything could be concluded 
the cause was removed to Rome ; Henry laid theblame on Wolsey, 
and his ruin quickly followed. He was ordered to resign the 
great seal, and, being indicted for breach of the statute of prae- 
munire, was sentenced to lose his property and be imprisoned 
during the royal pleasure. In the next year, the cardinal was 
pardoned, and, for a time, discharged his duties as bishop of York ; 
but being arrested for high treason, died at Leicester (1530) on 
his way to London. It was in connection with this divorce case, 
that the celebrated Thomas Cranmer comes into notice. Cran- 
mer was born (1489) at Aslacton, in Nottingham, and educated 
at Jesus College, Cambridge. Happening to pass an evening 
with Gardiner, the king's secretary, at the time when the divorce 
was the topic of the day, he gave as his opinion, that the matter 
rested upon the true interpretation of Scripture, and was one to 
be decided by learned men, and not by the authority of the pope. 
Henry caught at the idea, and pleased with the originator of it, 
promoted him in 1533 to the see of Canterbury. In the same 
year the new primate held a court at Dunstable, and pronounced 
the marriage of Catherine null, because contrary to the will of 
God. jS 

V. The Reformation in England. 1534. 

Owing to the many abuses in connection with the papal church, 
there had grown up a general desire in Christendom for a refor- 
mation. After the failure of more formal attempts, it was com- 
menced in 1517 by Martin Luther, a German monk, who waa 
moved thereto by the scandalous way in which indulgences were 
publicly sold. Henry, in defence of the church, wrote a book on 
the Seven Sacraments (1521), in opposition to the views of Luther, 
for which pope Leo conferred on him the title of " Defender of 
the Faith." Nevertheless the king, because pope Clement would 
not grant a divorce, severed the connexion between this country 
and the papal see. In 1534 the parliament, acting with Henry, 
set aside the papal power in England, and forbade the pay- 
ment of firstfruits to Rome ; the payment of Peter-pence was 
abolished, appeals to Rome no longer allowed, and arrangements 
made which transferred the appointment of bishops from the 
pope to the king, now the head of the English church. 

To the majority the change was satisfactory, but some much 
disliked it ; among others were Fisher, bishop of Rochester, and 
Sir Thomas More, a man of high station and eminent abilities ; 
for denying the king's spiritual supremacy they were executed 
(15^5). The regular clergy were those who made the strongest 
opposition ; this decided the f ato of the monasteries. Thomas 



HENRY VIII. 



107 



Uromwell, a man of low origin but good abilities, wno had ^ >een 
WoJsey's solicitor, was appointed vicar-general, and at once com- 
menced a visitation of the religious houses. Many of them were 
reported corrupt, as undoubtedly they were, and their dissolution 
resolved upon. In 1535 — 6 all the smaller houses were closed, 
and three years after, the larger ones, an excuse being found f oi 
doing so in the insurrection of the northern counties, called the 
4 Pilgrimage of Grace." The number of religious houses sup- 
pressed was about 1000, and their annual value £160,000, a sum 
equal to nearly a million and a half of modern money. The 
proceeds of this spoliation were thus distributed : — six new sees 
were created, Bristol, Gloucester, Peterborough, Chester, Oxford, 
and Westminster ; fifteen new chapters were founded : two 
coHeges, Trinity at Cambridge, and Christ Church, Oxford ; 
besides some grammar schools and hospitals. A portion went 
to pensioning the monks, and another part to the improvemen 
of Dover harbour, and the erection of castles at Deal, W aimer, 
Sandown, and Southsea. But the great bulk of the church pro- 
perty was granted to favourites, or gambled away by the king 
The immediate result of this large transfer of property was 
unfavourable, for numbers of persons were deprived of the 
means of subsistence and became vagrants : insurrections took 
place, and severe laws against vagrancy followed. ^^ 

In 1536 Cromwell ordered every parson to cause a Bible tc 
be set up in the choir, for the perusal of the people ; some 
restraint was subsequently put on this practice, for great num 
bers collected round the Bible-stand, and in the end a wordy 
warfare grew up which proved inconvenient. The Scriptures 
were also read in the public services of the church, and in both 
these ways a considerable amount of truth was circulated 
among the people. In this reign no less than four versions j j£ 
the Bible made their appearance — Qoverdale's in JL535, Matthew's 
in 1537, Cranmer's in 1559, and Tavemer's in the same year ; 
TjnjJaT ^Tesi im en t had appeared in 152& It was not till 
near the close of the reign that the Litany and a few prayers 
were published in the vulgar tongue. 

Henry's notions of a church reform extended little beyond a 
change in the headship of the church, and what appeared neces- 
sary to support that change ; hence the Reformation in this 
reign is sometimes said to have been poHtical rather than 
j?cclesiasticaL_ With respect to the doctrine of the church, 
Henry had his own views ; these were embodied in the "JSix. 
Articles" of 1539. which contained really the main points of the 
"Romish creed — such were tran substantiation, single communion, 
celibacy of the clergy, vows ofTcEastity, private masselCancl 



108 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

auricular confession. The act which acquired assent to these 
doctrines was called, because of its severity, " The Bloody 
Statute," and "The Whip with Six Strings ;" so many refused 
compliance, that the Eomish party felt afraid to enforce the 
penalties, which in some cases was death. 

VI. Third war with Scotland and France. 

(Several causes conspired to make a breach between Henry and 
James V. of Scotland. The former had sought to persuade his 
nephew to imitate his example, and throw off the yoke of Rome : 
to this James would not consent. Further, he gave himself up 
to French influence and married two wives from France ; and 
in 1542 the Scots crossed the borders and made many gentle- 
men "prisoners. The duke of Norfolk entered Scotland and 
retaliated. James then sent an army of 10,000 m en into Eng- 
land, but his subjects proved refractory, as well from dislike of 
the king's measures as because of his placing a favourite in 
command of the army. A party of English horse appearing, the 
Scots fled with the loss of their artillery and 1,000 men ; this 
affair is known as the Rout of Solw ay. James was so vexed at 
this disaster that he shut himself up and shortly died (15421 
leaving as his successor an infant daughter, Mary, only a week 
old. Henry opened negotiations, and a treaty was concluded by 
which Mary of Scots was to marry Prince Edward. But when 
cardinal Beaton came into power, the treaty was broken, and 
the next year (1544) Hertford captured and burnt Edinburgh 
and Leith, and devastated the surrounding country. The same 
leadeFpTundered the south of S cotland in the year following.. 

The war with France was partly on account of the encourage- 
ment given to the Scots, and partly to please the emperor 
Charles, who was again on good terms with Henry. The 
English king at the head of 30,000 men sat down before Bou- 
logne (1544), and in two months received its surrender. 
Nothing further was done, for Charles concluded a separate 
peace, and left his ally to back out of the war as he best could. 
Boulogne the English retained though with difficulty, for the 
French had become bold enough to insult Portsmouth, where 
they sunk the Mary Rose with 700 men. In 1546 a treaty was 
agreed to between Henry and Francis, by which Boulogne was 
to be restored in eight years, the French paying two million 
crowns ; a peace with the Scots was provided for in the same treaty. 

Miscellaneous Facts. The almost despotic power wielded by 
Henry forms a marked feature of this reign. Several circumstances 
tended to this result : — The Wars of the Koses had greatly reduced 
the peerage, and the new creations would necessarily b« for the court 
the dissolution of the monasteries deprived twenty abuuis cud twc 



EDWARD VI 10t) 

priors of their floats in the house of peers, that is, the peerage was 
lessened by about one- third, and these perhaps the most independent 
personages in the house : the Reformation made Henry the head of 
the English church : and the commons, no longer supported by the 
upper house, showed themselves, in nearly everything, obsequious to 
the king's will. So abject was the parliament, that it enacted that 
the king's proclamations should be obeyed as if they were law, and 
that the kingr might dispose of the crown according to his pleasure. 

In 1536, Wales was incorporated into England. At this time there 
were 141 independent lordships, from which the king's writs were 
excluded ; the lords professed to administer justice, but men escaped 
from one lordship to another, and purchased immunities. It was 
therefore enacted that the whole of Wales be incorporated with Eng- 
land ; that all the natives should have the same rights ; that the 
custom of gavel-kind should cease ; that justice should be administered 
only by the king's officers ; and that the different shires, with one 
borough in each, should return members to parliament. 

In this reign (1542) Ireland became a kingdom, and an attempt 
was made to conciliate the natives, and reduce the English colonists 
to rule. At the accession of Henry, his authority comprised only the 
principal seaports, and a half of the counties of Louth, Westmeath, 
Dublin, Xildare, and Wexford ; the remainder of the island was under 
the government of sixty chieftains of Irish, and thirty of English 
origin. The result was much the same as in Wales, the chieftains 
would not allow the king's courts* to be held in their districts, and 
crimes were mostly compounded for by the payment of a fine. Henry 
contrived to win over the leaders, who acknowledged his spiritual 
supremacy and accepted a peerage at his hands. 

Henry is usually considered as the founder of the Royal Navy. He 
was the last sovereign to hire foreign vessels in time of war; dock- 
yards were founded at Woolwich, Deptford, and Portsmouth ; a board 
of admiralty was instituted, and a Navy office, and the service placed 
for the first time on a distinct footing. The navy in 1546 comprised 
68 vessels, of about 12,000 tons, and carrying 8,000 seamen. 

Chronicle. 1512, Benefit of clergy taken from murderers and 
felons. The Trinity House established for the encouragement of na- 
vigation. 1618, College of Physicians instituted at the instance of 
Dr. Linacre. 1521, Bows and arrows begin to be disused by the 
English. Muskets invented by the Spaniards. 1522, the first work 
of arithmetic printed in England ; written by Tonstal, bishop of Dur- 
ham. 1524, Hops introduced into England from the Netherlands. 
1529, Six princes and fourteen imperial cities protest against 
Mie decree of the second Diet of Spires, which prohibited further 
changes in religion ; this originated the term Protestants. 1535, the 
whole of the Bible translated into English by Tyndal and Coverdale 
1536, Parochial registers of births, deaths, and marriages established 
by Thomas Cromwell. 1539, Cranmer's Bible ordered to be kept and 
read in the churches. 1543, The exhibition of mysteries and morali- 
ties prohibited by law. 1545, Rate of interest fixed at ten per cent. 

EDWAEDVL 1547-1553. 

Royal Family. Edw&ffd, the spn of Henry VIII. and Jane Sej 
&our was born at Hac ( 3&taro Court in 1537, and educated by Dr 



110 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HI8T0R7. 

Cooke and Mr. Cheke, under whose instructions he became learned 
beyond his years. Being but ten years of age at the death of his 
father, the government vested, according to the will of Henry, in mx- 
teen executors; one of this number, Edward Seymour, earl of Hert- 
ford, was elected president; he became also guardian of his nephew 
and lord protector of all his realms. Under the higher title of duke 
of Somerset, he governed the kingdom till overthrown by his rival 
the earl of Warwick. Two months after the execution of his unckj 
Edward fell ill with the small-pox, and when he recovered from that 
disease, others made their appearance; he gradually sunk and died 
ftt Greenwich. Much has been written both good and bad about thii 
youthful king, more indeed than was warranted, for he was not six- 
teen when he died, and hence bis character not fully developed. We 
therefore may not attribute to him the good work of the Reformation, 
nor on the other hand ought the execution of his uncles and others 
to be charged to him. The principal acts of his reign were due to 
his councillors, and not to himself. It is however in his favor, that 
he showed a reverence for sacred things, and ordered that provision 
should be made for the sick and destitute poor. 

I. War with Scotland. 

In 1543, Henry had concluded a treaty with the Scots, in which 
it was agreed that Edward should Marry Mary, the daughter of 
James V. Cardinal Beaton had set this arrangement aside, but 
as some of the Scotch reformers were favourable to the idea, a 
new treaty was concluded by which they engaged to do their best 
to forward the marriage. As soon as the treaty became known, 
the forces of Scotland were called out to repel the English. 
Somerset thereupon crossed the Tweed with 20,000 men, and 
defeating the Scots at Pinkie (1547), in which battle 10,000 of 
the enemy fell, he made himself master of Leith. In less than a 
week, to the surprise of every one, the Protector returned into 
England ; the intrigues of his brother, lord Seymour, is thought 
to account for this movement. The places which the English had 
taken fell, the next year, into the hands of the Scotch, or were 
abandoned, and the young queen Mary was sent to France, where 
she subsequently married the dauphin. In 1550 a peace was 
concluded with France and Scotland, the former having 
entered into the quarrel ; Boulogne was surrendered to the 
French, and the English gave up their claim to the marriage of 
Edward with Mary. 

II. Progress of the Reformation. 

Under Somerset and Cranmer the Reformation was carried on 
vigorously. The " Six Articles" were repealed; imagesremoved 
from churches; thecommunion directed to be administered in both 
Kinds ; a Prayer Book compiled, and an Act of Umformity(1549) 
passed toenforceitsuse; tha marriage of priests alio wed, chantries 



EDWARD VI. ill 

suppressed, and a book of homilies and the forty -two Articles 
published, setting forth the doctrines held by the English re- 
formers. Moreover, an English Bible and a copy of Erasmus's 
Commentary on the Gospels were commanded to be placed in 
every chnrch, and a second Prayer Book issued by authority 
(1552), being a revision of the first, with the assistance of Bucet 
and other foreign Protestants. The main body of the people are 
said to have been favourable to these changes, there was never- 
theless considerable opposition from Gardiner and other bishops, 
and some also from the common people, who found in the new 
state of things something unfavourable to their interests. Even 
of those who promoted the movement, some were actuated by 
impure motives, and caused much grief to Cranmer, on account 
of their eagerness for the property of the suppressed chantries ; 
it was with difficulty that a portion of it could be preserved to be 
appropriated to the founding of schools. It is to be regretted 
that the reformers descended to persecution ; they may, however, 
be excused in part, for more than another century passed away 
before the subject of religious toleration was understood. Still 
only two persons were burnt in this reign, Joan Bocher, of Kent, 
for holding peculiar opinions on the incarnation of Christ ; and 
George Van Parre, a Dutch surgeon, for denying our Lord's 
divinity. 

III. Popular insurrections. 

Several causes conspired to produce a movement among the 
poorer classes. The rapid decline of feudal ism had thrown more 
free labour into the market than couldfindimmediate employment, 
and this at a time when the demand was less than usual, and 
food at a high price. The demand for labour was less, for the new 
proprietors converted much of the land into pasture, which was 
found to be more profitable, on account of the increasing demand 
for wool, and so rapacious were they that they illegally enclosed a 
part of the common lands. And to increase the general distress, 
the persons formerly employed or supported by the religious 
houses were for the most part houseless, and, as there was no 
poor-law, obliged to depend upon alms. The country therefore 
swarmed with vagrants. To put a stop to vagrancy, laws of the 
utmost severity were passed, by which persons begging without a 
licence were adjudged to be whipped, branded, lose one of their 
ears, be made slaves for life, or hanged, the penalty depending 
apon the number of convictions. But no law could appease their 
hunger, and the houseless monks, of whom there were great num- 
bers, easily persuaded them that their sufferings resulted from the 
religious changes. In 1549 risings took place in many counties, 



112 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISIORV 

the most formidable in Cornwall, Devon, and Norfolk. In the 
former counties, a demand was made for the restoration of the 
ancient liturgy ; Exeter was besieged by the insurgents, but lord 
Russell put them to flight and executed their ringleaders. The 
rising in Norfolk was of a more serious character. Here 20,000 
men, headed by Ket, a wealthy tanner, demanded the destruction 
of enclosures and the removal of evil counsellors. An army sent 
against them met with defeat, but a second under the earl of 
Warwick dispersed the insurgents with great slaughter ; Ket and 
other leaders were executed. Out of these insurrections grew 
the appointment of lord-lieutenants of counties, with authority 
to levy men, and lead them against the enemies of the king. 

IV. Fall of the Protector Somerset. 

Fronrthe commencement of the reign Somerset had many 
enemies ; some disliked him because of his ambition, others be- 
cause of Jhis zeal for the Reformation ; at a later period his 
J rapacity gave general offence. His brother, lord Seymour, a man 
o? ambitious and violent temper, was the first to cabal against 
him ; on a charge of treasonable designs, Seymour was attainted 
and executed (1549). In the same year Warwick headed a 
party against the Protector, who had given additional offence by 
H appearing to sanction ihe demand of the common people against 
enclosures, i He had moreover taken to himself more than 200 
manors, and had demolished several religious edifices to obtain a 
site and materials for his new palace in the Strand. His enemies 
charged him with conspiring against their lives ; on making his 
submission and givinghis daughter in marriage to Warwick's son, 
he was readmitted to the council. But it served him not, for in 
1551 he was seized and committed, on the charge of designing to 
seize the Tower and great seal, and to deprive Warwick and other 
councillors of their liberty ; being found guilty of the latter he 
was beheaded. 

Warwick, now duke of Northumberland, from this time had 
supreme control in the kingdom, and though a Catholic at heart, 
found it necessary to fall in with the Reformation. As soon as 
the health of Edward began to give way he commenced his in- 
trigues to alter the succession, which he was able to accomplish 
by working on the young king's fears with respect to the new 
religion. Mary and Elizabeth were therefore set asid*), and the 
succession settled on Lady Jane Grey (a descendant of Mary, the 
younger sister of Henry VIII.), who had married Warwick's son, 
Dudley. Much opposition was made to this change, but Edward 
commanded it and it was done. Within about a fortnight the 
young king died. 



tfA£?. 113 

Miscellaneous Facts. In 1553 an expedition of three ihips 
sailed from England, under the command of Sir Hugh Willoughby, to 
discover a norh-east passage to India. Off the North Cape the fleet 
was scattered by a storm. Captain Challoner with one ship found his 
way into the White Sea, and wintered at Archangel ; this led in the 
next reign to the opening of commercial relations with Russia. The 
other two ships were blown upon the coast of Nova Zembla, where the 
crews all perished. 

Cheonicle. 1547, Vagabonds ordered to be branded, and for ab- 
sconding to be reduced to perpetual slavery. 1552, Crowns and half- 
crowns first coined. Christ's Hospital founded. 1553, Bridewell given 
to the citizens of London for the correction of the idle and destitute, 
St. Thomas's Hospital re-founded. 



MARY. 1553-1558. 



Royal Family. Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII. and Cathe- 
rine of Arragon, was born at Greenwich, 1516. At the age of six 
ye^rs she was affianced to Charles V., but it came to nothing on 
account of the divorce of her mother; her father tried to dispose of 
her to other princes, though to no purpose. Her mother's disgrace 
tended to sour her mind, for she was not only declared to be illegiti- 
mate, but forced to acknowledge that the marriage was unlawful. 
During the reign of her brother she endured much persecution, be- 
cause of her attachment to the old faith : her servants and chaplains 
were imprisoned, and it was proposed to deal sharply with Mary her- 
self. The attempt to deprive her of the throne tended still further to 
influence her against the reforming party ; it is not therefore a matter 
of surprise that she listened to her advisers, and dealt severely with 
her enemies. In 1554 she gave her hand to Philip of Spain; the 
marriage provoked an insurrection, and resulted in much misery to 
Mary herself, for though she doted on her husband, he treated her 
with neglect, and then left the kingdom. Her constitution, never strong, 
declined after her accession, and the unfortunate character of her 
reign increased her melancholy; she died at St. James's and was in- 
terred in Westminster Abbey. The foul blot on Mary's character 
was the sanction she gave to the barbarous persecution of the Pro- 
testants ; it is only fair, however, to add that this mode of dealing with 
persons holding opposite religious opinions was common at that period. 
Of her personal piety few have doubted, and ofiier charities there are 
many records. 

Lady Jane Grey, the daughter of Henry Grey, marquis of Dorset, 
and Frances, daughter of Mary, sister of Henry VIII., was born in 
1537, and became early distinguished for her proficiency in several 
languages and various branches of philosophy. For political reasons 
she was married to lord Guildford Dudley, fourth son of Northum- 
berland. Having been forced to assume the crown, she was, on the 
accession of Mary, adjudged guilty of high treason, but not executed 
till 1554, after Wyatt's insurrection had seemed to make it necessary. 
Her deep piety and calm submission to her fate have won the admi- 
ration of posterity. 



114 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTOBY. 

I. The usurpation of Lady Jane Grey. 

The death of Edward was kept secret for two days, with the 
nope of being able to obtain possession of Mary's person ; she. 
however, heard the news, and betook herself to the castle of 
Framlingham in Suffolk. Lady Jane was proclaimed queen, but 
so great was the unpopularity of her father-in-law, that even 
liia friends deserted him to join Mary ; and though he headed a 
foice against the rightful sovereign, his cause appeared so des- 
ecrate that he retreated to Cambridge and proclaimed the daugh- 
ter of Henry. There was now no further opposition, the 
" thirteen days of Lady Jane " (July 6 — 19) being ended by the 
proclamation of her rival. Northumberland and others were 
executed ; and Lady Jane, her husband, Cranmer, and several 
more, committed to the Tower on a charge of high treaaon. 

II. Restoration of Romanism. 

Mary, as soon as she entered London/liberated Gardiner," 
Bonner, and Tunstall, three catholic bishops who had been com- 
mitted in the previous reign ; to the mayor of London the queen 
said " she meant not to compel or strain men's consciences." 
I The laws respecting religion passed in the reign of Edward were 
annulled, and the form of divine service as in the last year of 
Henry VIII. re-established. "All the married clergy were expelled 
or separated from their wives., and*>the protestant bishops de- 
prived of their sees. Many of the reformers fled to the conti- 
nent, where a part of them imbibed the views of Calvin, and on 
their return laid the foundation of the Puritan party. In 1554 
cardinal Pole arrived in England, and on the parliament's ex- 
pressing sorrow for the nation's defection from the church of 
Rome, granted absolution to both houses, and took off all spiritual 
censures from the realm. The queen now surrendered to the 
cardinal the church lands in possession of the crown, as she did 
also tenths and first-fruits. It should be mentioned, that to 
prevent opposition to these changes by the principal persons in 
the kingdom, Gardiner had procured a papal bull confirming to 
the present possessors all the church property which had been 
transferred in the two preceding reigns. 

III. Wyatt's insurrection. 1554. 

When it was known that Mary had resolved to marry Philip of 
Spain, the nation generally became apprehensive of evil, for 
Philip was a bigoted catholic, and the kingdom of England, it 
was thought, might become a province of Spain A party there- 
fore allied themselves to prevent it, af to* head of which were 



MARY, 115 

the duke of Suffolk, Sir Thomas Wyatt, and Sir Peter Carew 

The affair being badly arranged, proved a failure. Wyatt only 
had a measure of success, for he managed to get into London, but 
there he found himself entrapped, and compelled to surrender. 
This insurrection formed an excuse for the immediate execution 
of Jl.ady Jane and her husband ; there suffered also her_father 
thcTduke of Suffolk, Grey her uncle, Wyatt, and about fifty of 
the prisoners. JEH^ahiath, the queen's sister, being thoughTto be 
concerned in this rebellious project, was sent to the Tower ; 
after remaining there two months she was removed to Wood- 
stock as her place of confinement. 

IV. The Marian persecution. 

It is uncertain with whom this terrible persecution originated. 
By some it is attributed to the queen, by others to Gardiner ; at 
the time, Philip was looked upon as the chief instigator, and 
Gardinerand Bonner merely as his tools. The persecution began 
in January, 1555, by calling before the court in which Gardiner 
presided, Hooper the deprived bishop of Gloucester, Rogers a 
prebendary of St. Paul's, Saunders . rector of Allkallows, and 
Taylor rector of Had lei gh in Suffolk. Refusing to acknowledge 
the doctrine of transubstantiation or the supremacy of the pope, 
they were condemned as obstinate heretics. Rogers was burnt 
in Smithfield, Hooper suffered before his own cathedral, Saunders 
at Coventry, and Taylor at Hadleigh. After this commencement, 
the work was carried on principally by the bishop of London, 
who for his severity obtained the name of " bloody Bonner." At 
Oxford a court sat on Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer ; the two 
latter were condemned, and burnt near Balliol College. At the 
stake Latimer exclaimed, " Be of good courage, Master Ridley ; 
we shall this day, by GocTs grace, light in England such a candle 
as I trust shall never be put out." Cranmer was remanded, and 
working on the natural timidity of his character, his enemies 
forced from him a kind of recantation ; he was nevertheless 
ordered for execution, which took place at Oxford (March 21, 
1556), but not before he had publicly confessed his fault ; when 
in the fire he gave the hand which had signed the paper to the 
flames first, exclaiming, " This hand hath offended." The perse, 
cution went on till the end of the reign, consuming in its firea 
nearly 300 persons ; besides these there were many who perished, 
in prison by torture or hard usage. , jS 

V. War with France. 1557—1558. ^ 
One of the articles la the marriage treaty between Mary and 
Philip provided that this nation should not go to war with France 



116 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

in the cause of Spain. Philip eDdeavoured to persuade his queen 
to disregard this article, but could not succeed till Stafford and 
other refugees fitted out a force in France, and, laricfing in York- 
shire, seized Scarborough Castle. Six weeks after, war was de- 
clared, and 8,000 men sent over to join the Spanish army ; the 
allies beat the French in the battle of St. Quentin. In the winter 
the duke of Guise invested Calais, which being insufficiently 
garrisoned, surrendered to the French, after being in our posses- 
sion for more than two centuries. The discontent of the English 
was only equalled by the grief of the queen, who declared that 
after her death Calais would be found written on her heart. 

Miscellaneous Facts. At the commencement of this reign it was 
thought necessary for the parliament to declare the regal power to be 
vested in the queen as fully as in the kings her predecessors ; some 
doubt of this had been expressed, as Mary was the first queen regnani 
of England. About the year 1555 coaches are said to have first ap- 
peared in England ; ladies before this time rode in litters, or on horse* 
back behind their squires, as indeed they did for some time after. 

Chronicle. 1555, German Steel-yard Company revived, at the in« 
stance of the emperor. Russian Company incorporated. 1557, First 
commercial treaty with Russia. Great scarcity in England ; wheat up 
to 53s. a quarter, after the harvest it fell to 5s. 

ELIZABETH. 1558-1603- 

Royal Family. Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry VIII. and 
Anne Boleyn, was born at Greenwich in 1533. In her third year she 
lost her mother and was declared illegitimate. Her education, how- 
iver, was not neglected ; the mornings were given to the Scriptures, 
then language and science, followed by music, the remainder of the 
day to needlework. After the death of her father she received some 
attentions from Sir Thomas Seymour, who continued his suit till ar- 
rested for treason. On the death of Edward she joined herself to her 
sister's party, and escorted her into London with a thousand horse. 
Within a month the sisters differed, Elizabeth refusing to attend mass, 
though she expressed a willingness to receive instruction. Wyatt's 
insurrection placed her in a critical position, for her name had been 
freely used ; when summoned to give an account of herself she pleaded 
illness, but officers were sent to fetch her. By the Spanish party capital 
punishment was proposed, but Gardiner interfered and she was com- 
mitted to the Tower. Thence she was removed to Woodstock and closely 
guarded by soldiers ; after a time she was permitted to reside at Hatfield. 
During this period of her life Elizabeth displayed much shrewdneee. 
but was not without some blame in the affair of Seymour, and in the 
movement of Wyatt. 

As a queen, Elizabeth attained high honours, the Reformation re* 
ceived its completion, and England became the head of the Protestant 
Hates. The country during her reign rapidly improved, and gave an 
darnest of its industrial and maritime greatness. A part of this im- 
provement may be attributed to the energetic character of the queen, 
hut more undoubtedly to tks wlsdora of her counsellors. Still her 



ELIZABETH. 117 

reign was full of inquietude, to the queen on account of the numerous 
plots against her government and her life, and to tne people because 
of the arbitrary character of many of the proceedings of the govern- 
ment. Elizabeth was learned, but her tastes were coarse ; she was a 
maiden queen, but her court was dissolute; and though a monarch 
9f a constitutional government, her sway was marked by much that 
was despotic. A much better woman than her enemies describe her, 
she nevertheless possessed fewer virtues than are attributed to her by 
ber friends. 

I. Difficulties at the accession. 

Though by greater part of the nation the accession of Eliza- 
beth was hailed with joy, there were many circumstances whieh 
rendered her position one of difficulty, and which in fact gave a 
tone to the entire reign. The Catholics generally looked upon 
her as illegitimate, and the crown as belonging of right to Mary 
of Scots ; the reigning pope refused to acknowledge her title, 
and Philip of Spain intimated that his friendship depended on her 
union with the Catholic church. Because of the countenance 
6he gave to the new religion, the entire body of bishops agreed 
not to assist at the coronation ; at length Oglethorpe, bishop of 
Carlisle, was induced to separate himself from his brethren, and 
the queen was crowned at Westminster. The king of France 
too, decided against her claims, and induced Mary of Scots, his 
daughter-in-law, to assume the style and arms of queen of Eng- 
land. There was moreover a war existing with France and 
Scotland, and, what in those days was deemed most alarming, 2 
debt of about four millions. As Elizabeth had enough to engage 
her attention at home, she wisely concluded treaties of peace 
with both countries ; by the treaty of Cambray (1559), Calais 
remained in the hands of the French ; by that with Scotland, 
the queen agreed to afford neither aid nor asylum to the Scot- 
tish rebels. 

II. Completion of the Reformation. 

Immediately on the accession of Elizabeth, Edward's Service- 
book came into use in several places. By proclamation the eleva- 
tion of the host was forbidden, and liberty granted for the use m 
English of the Lord's Prayer, Creed, Ten Commandments, and 
Litany. When the parliament met in 1559, the spiritual supre- 
macy of the crown was restored, and all foreign power repugnani 
thereto abolished ; and religious matters generally brought intc 
t,he condition they were in before the accession of Mary. First- 
fruits and tenths fell again to the crown, and Edward's second 
vService-book was confirmed with some alterations. The bishops 
refusing to take the oath of supremacy were deprived, with the 
exception of tw:> ; altogether only about 200 of the clergy. 



118 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

including dignitaries, refused to conform. In this reign the article* 
were revised and reduced in number to thirty-nine; the catechism 
also was revised, and a second book of Homilies published. 

These changes were not made without some opposition, many 
of those who conformed did so insincerely; but besides these there 
were two great classes of dissenters — the Catholics and Puritans, 
from both of which there was resistance all the reign througn. 
For eleven years most of the Romanists continued their connection 
with the National Church, but after the failure of the northern 
rebellion, pope Pius excommunicated Elizabeth (1570) andforbade 
allegiance to her. From this time the Roman Catholics became 
a distinct dissenting community, and involved in plots against the 
government. As they feared a lack of priests, Catholic seminaries 
were opened at Douay, Rheims, Rome, and other places, from 
which men were sent from time to time to England, to keep alive 
the ancient faith. The trouble given to the government led 
ultimately to great severity. A fine of twenty pounds a month 
was imposed for non-attendance at the parish church, as also foi 
privately celebrating the mass. Any one reconciling, or being 
reconciled to the church of Rome, incurred the penalty of high 
treason, and the same punishment was denounced against all 
Jesuits and priests found in the kingdom. During the reign 
about 200 Catholics suffered death for treasonable practices, 
besides many who were put to the rack or otherwise punished. 

Of those who fled to the continent in the reign of Mary, many 
went to Geneva, and from the school of Calvin brought back 
with them extreme views relating to public worship. Because of 
their professing to seek a purer form of worship, they obtained 
the name of Puritans. This party objected to clerical vestments, 
Kneeling at the sacrament, sign of the cross in baptism, us^ of 
sponsors, the ring in marriage, government by bishops, organs, 
and chanting. About the year 1566 they began to meet in 
private houses ; four years later they were formed Jnto_a^separate 
party by Thomas Cartwright, professor of divinityatCambridge. 
Numbers of the clergy adopted these views, and being ejected 
from the church, set up places of worship in which theyconductec 
divine service after the new model. Ultimately there were de- 
nounced against these separatists the severest penalties — fines, 
banishment, and death. Many fled to Holland, and of those that 
remained, some were mutilated and otlers executed. 

III. Mary of Scots. 
Mary, at the accession of Elizabeth, had recently married 
Francis the dauphin of France, who became king in 1559. Mary 
of Guise, widow oi James V., governed Scotland, which at that 



ELIZABETH. US 

time, was in an uneasy condition by reason of the progress of 
the Reformation under John Knox. The " Lords of the Congre- 
gation," as the nobles who headed the movement were termed, 
so alarmed the regent that she sought assistance from France ; 
to support the Protestant party, Elizabeth rendered them aid 
*ecretk», and when Francis became king, concluded a ireaty oi 
?nutual defence with the Scotch reformers. Elizabeth has been 
accused of fomenting the quarrels of a neighbouring state for un- 
worthy purposes, but to her councillors it seemed necessary, for 
if the French were allowed to establish themselves in Scotland, 
it required no great penetration to discern their next step. By 
the assistance of English forces the French were compelled to 
shut themselves up in Leith, and subsequently to surrender. The 
treaty of Edinburgh (1560) which followed, stipulated that the 
French should return home, and that Mary should renounce her 
pretensions to the English crown, which she refused to do. The 
Scotch parliament now found itself strong enough to establish 
the reformed religion. 

Francis died in December, 1 560, and Mary disliking her mother- 
in-law, Catherine de Medicis, returned to Scotland in 1561. 
Four years after, she married her cousin lord Darnley, a man of 
handsome exterior, but violent in his passions and implacable in 
his resentments. His bad qualities soon snowea tnemseives. 
Mary had made Rizzio, a Piedmontese, her private secretary, be- 
cause of his knowledge of the French language ; Darnley became 
jealous of him, and formed a party to tear him from the queen's 
side and put him to death. This act extinguished Mary's love, 
though she became so far reconciled as to attend on her husband 
when ill of the small-pox at Glasgow. Being removed to the 
neighbourhood of Edinburgh, Darnley was placed in a solitary 
house, known as the Kirk of Field ; in a few days the house was 
blown up with gunpowder (1567), and the dead body of Darnley 
found at a distance, but whether killed by the explosion or other- 
wise is disputed^ Public report charged the earl of Both well 
with the deed, and the earl of Lennox, father of the murdered 
noble, commenced proceedings against him ; but as Both well ap- 
peared on the day of trial with 5,000 attendants, Lennox dare not 
appear, and could only by proxy make a protest. As no charge 
was made, the accused earl was acquitted. Within a month 
Mary upon a show of force gave her hand to the profligate Both- 
well, whom she had createddukeof Orkney. A confederacy w T as 
immediately formed against her. Both parties gathered forces, 
which met at Carberry Hill ; Mary's cause appearing hopeless, 
she surrendered and was imprisoned in Lochleven castle. Both- 
weli made his escape, but was seized at sea as apirate. and died 



120 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

a prisoner in Denmark. In prison, Mary consented to surrender 
the crown to her infant son ; the regency fell to Murray her ille- 
gitimate brother. After an imprisonment of ten months, Mary 
effected her escape, and was soon at the head of 6,000 men ; being 
defeated at Langside (1568), she fled to England. 

A difficulty now presented itself to the English government. 
If Elizabeth gave her countenance, it would be said she thought 
lightly of those heavy crimes alleged against the fugitive queeu, 
and if she allowed her to depart, the Catholics might rally rouna 
her and place her on the throne of England. It was therefore 
determined to place Mary under restraint at Bolton castle, and 
open a conference at York, to give her an opportunity of clearing 
herself. The commissioners met, and the charges and counter- 
charges of Mary and the Scottish government were brought 
forward ; the evidence against Mary proved inconclusive, and 
the conference being removed to London, it was resolved by 
the English council that Elizabeth could not safely release the 
accused till her innocence was better established. Sne theref we 
remained a prisoner, first at Tutbury, and, after one or two 
removals, at Sheffield castle (1570—1584). 

IV. Many Catholic plots in favour of Mary. 

While these events were transpiring in England, others fell out 
on the continent, in which this country could but be deeply in- 
terested, for it seemed that a great struggle must ensue before 
England could count on retaining the reformed faith. A meeting 
at Bayonne (1565) between Catherine of France and the duke of 
Alva, gave rise to a rumour that France and Spain had entered 
into a league for the entire suppression of Protestantism through- 
out Europe, and the atrocities that followed seemed to confirm 
it. The hope of bringing back England to the Catholic faith de- 
pended mainly on the deposition of Elizabeth and the accession 
of Mary, hence her partisans at home were encouraged by the 
Catholic powers abroad. The first movementin her favour (1569), 
headed by the earls of Westmoreland and Cumberland, did little 
more than set up the mass in a few places ; on the appearance of 
the royal forces the leaders escaped to Scotland, but their followers 
were severely punished. In 1571 the duke of Norfolk, who was 
not unconnected with the insurrection of the northern earls, was 
arrested on the charge of compassing the death of his sovereign 
by seeking to marry the Queen of Scots, and by soliciting foreign 
powers to invade the realm. Being found guilty he was executed 
In the following year. 

The next movement of importance was in 1584. A Jesuit 
captured at sea, had in hiB possession a paper of heads of a plan 



ELIZABETH. 121 

for a Spanish invasion and the deposition or death of Elizabeth, 
This produced a greater impression, as only a month or two 
before, the prince of Orange had been removed out of the way by 
assassination. Several persons were subsequently executed for 
conspiring against the life of the queen. In 1586 a soldier of 
Philip's forces formed a design to kill Elizabeth, which was ap- 
proved of by two Catholic priests ; in this scheme Babington and 
several other gentlemen joined : being discovered, the whole were 
executed. As Mary appeared to have been a party to this plot, 
she was brought to trial before a commission which sat at 
Fotheringay, to which place she had been removed in 1586. 
Having first objected to the competency of the court to try an 
independent sovereign, she consented to plead. Her letters to 
Babington and others proved that she was cognizant of the pro- 
jected invasion, but she solemnly denied conspiring against the 
life of Elizabeth. The court condemned her " as having com- 
passed divers matters tending to the hurt, death, and destruction " 
of the person of queen Elizabeth. How far Mary had given 
co untenance to a scheme for the assassination of the queen is a 
point quite as much controverted as the guilty knowledge she is 
said to have had of Darnley's death. It was some months after 
the sentence had been pronounced, before Elizabeth could be 
persuaded to sign the warrant for execution. She did so at length 
with reluctance, though her counsellors argued " that the life of 
one Scottish and titular queen ought not to weigh down the safety 
of all England." The execution took place at Fotheringay 
(Feb. 8, 1587) ; her body was interred at Peterborough, but re- 
moved to Westminster by her son James I. 

V. The Spanish Armada. 1588. 

As both France and Spain had been favourable to Mary's 
cause, but more particularly the latter, Elizabeth felt little 
scruple in aiding the Protestants of both countries. In France, 
after some promise of success, the Protestant party came to an 
accommodation with their oppressors. But the calm proved 
deceitful, for two years later (1572) the principal leaders were 
inveigled to Paris, and there butchered : the same atrocity was 
committed in the provinces. Altogether more than 30,000 
Huguenots or French Protestants fell in the massacre o.f 
St. Bartholomew, as this great assassination scheme was called 
To the eternal disgrace of the reigning pope,medala werestruck, 
and thanksgivings offered upon the occasion. u The monstrous 
crime, howsver, injured the cause it was intended to serve, as it 
proved to the Protestants of all countries, that their safety could 
onLy be fcund in a closer union than they had hitherto main- 

1 



122 OUTLINES OP ENGLISH HISTORY. 

tained ; accordingly they looked to Elizabeth as their protectress 
and her aid rendered the triumph of Romanism impossible." 

To crush the revolted Protestants in the Netherlands, Philip 
of Spain sent the duke of Alva, whose savagenature found ample 
gratification in putting to death nearly 100,000 persons. These 
proceedings led to a second revolt. Several of the provinces 
threw off the Spanish yoke, proclaimed William of Orange stadt- 
Lolder, and by a treaty of union at Utrecht (1579), laid the 
foundation of the Dutch Republic. After the assassination ol 
William (1584), Elizabeth entered into a new treaty with the 
infant state, agreeing to furnish 6,000 men, en receiving it 
pledge the towns of Flushing, Rammekins, and Brill. It was 
while serving with this force that the celebrated Sir Philip 
Sydney lost his life at the siege of Zutphen (1586). In the year 
preceding, Drake had taken the cities of St. Domingo and Car 
thagena, returning from his expedition with much treasure. 

All this was more than Philip could tamely submit to. He 
had already made some preparations to conquer England, from 
this time they went on with renewed vigour. All the ports of his 
extensive dominions — Spain, Portugal, Naples, and Sicily, were 
in full activity ; in addition, vessels and stores were procured 
from Denmark and the Hanse towns. In 1587, Drake was 
sent to the coast of Spain, and at Cadiz destroyed a hundred 
vessels ; this with the difficulty Philip found in obtaining money 
delayed the expedition another year. Confident of success, the 
Spanish armament was called "The Invincible Armada; all things 
being ready, it sailed from the Tagus May 29,1588. The armada 
consisted of about 130 ships, 11,000 seamen, and 20,000 soldiers, 
under the command of the duke of Medina Sidonia. To oppose 
this formidable array, the English mustered about 140 ships, of 
which nearly the whole were vessels supplied by the seaports, 
and 15,000 men. The disparity of force is best seen in the 
number of guns, for whilst the Spaniards carried about 3200, the 
English had little more than 800. Besides the fleet, Elizabeth 
raised three armies, one of 30,000 to move where occasion might 
require, another of 20,000 distributed along the southern coast, 
and a third of about the same number stationed at Tilbury. 

Meeting with a storm off Finisterre, the armada put back to 
refit, and report said it would not make the attempt till the 
ensuing year. It, however, again put to sea and appeared off the 
Lizard (July 19). When the news was brought, the English fleet 
was at Plymouth ; it at once put to sea under the command of 
lord Howard of Effingham, assisted by Drake, Frobisher, and 
Hawkins. The Spanish ships had the advantage of size and 
i&Jtery, but the English were better seamen, and their smaller 



ELIZABETH. 123 

vessels could be more readily handled. Skirmishes took place on 
the 21st, 23rd, and 25th, which all ended in some advantage to 
the English. On the 27th the armada anchored off Calais, where 
30,000 additional soldiers were to be put on board ; the expedition 
was then to cross to the English coast and effect a landing. But 
before any part of this arrangement could be carried out, tire 
ships were sent in among the Spanish fleet which caused ths 
Spaniards to cut their cables ; several went ashore upon the 
shoals, and others fell into the hands of the English. The duke 
of Parma now refused to send off his troops, and it was therefore 
determined that the expedition should return home. This they 
attempted by sailing northward so as to round Scotland ; the 
English pursued as far asthe Orkneys and captured several vessels. 
A great storm did the rest, for so many were wrecked on the 
coast of Norway, Scotland, and Ireland, that when the remnant 
reached home, it was found that 80 large ships had been lost, and 
20,000 men. After this the English annoyed the Spanish coast, 
and in 1596 lord Howard and the earl of Essex plunderd Cadis, 
whereby the Spaniards are said to have sustained a loss of four 
millions of money. 

VI. The Irish rebellion. 

The Irish had many reasons for discontent, the best lands were 
in the hands of the English, and the undertakers by whom they 
were managed treated the native Irish with much contempt ; 
there was moreover the matter of religion, for the Irish would not 
accept the reformed faith. Encouraged by the Catholic states, 
they were turbulent all through the reign. One of the principal 
leaders was Shan O'Neal, earl of Desmond whose estates were 
partitioned among the English, Sir Waiter Raleigh and the poet 
Spenser being in the number. At a subsequent period Philip of 
Spain aided the Irish with men and money, in retaliation for 
Elizabeth's interference with the Netherlands. In 1598 Hugh 
O'Neal, nephew of Shan, whom Elizabeth had made earl of 
Tyrone, with the hope of attaching him to her government, ap- 
peared at the head of a formidable rebellion. Nearly the wholo 
of the natives rose and inflicted on the English settlers a terrible 
vengeance ; in an attempt against them the English suffered 
defeat at Blackwater. To deal effectively with this savage out- 
break, Essex, the queen's favourite, was placed at the head of a 
large army. The earl wasted his time and forces in petty expe- 
ditions, and instead of crushing Tyrone, contented himself with 
negotiation. Elizabeth was indignant, and Essex, fearful of tho 
consequences, quitted Ireland to make his paace with the queen, 
Being ordered to temporary confinement, and deprived of the 



124 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

monopoly of sweet wines, the foolish earl got up a conspiracy 
(1601) to seize his royal mistress; it proved an utter failure, and 
ended in his execution as a traitor. Lord Mouu tjoy, his successor 
in Ireland, put down the rebellion in one campaign, and though 
a Spanish expedition of 45 ships arrived at Kinsale, it was only 
to capitulate to the English. The rebellion was now extin- 
guished, and O'Neal pardoned but deprived of part of his lands. 

Miscellaneous Facts. In 1559, when the headship of the English 
church was restored to the sovereign, a new institution, known as the 
High Commission Court, was established. Its powers included all 
matters relating to the church. Like the Star Chamber it had its uses, 
but both institutions grew to be instruments of tyranny, and were 
abolished in 1641. 

In this reign indications are given of the growth of towns, which was 
probably due to the increase of manufacturing industry. There is no 
doubt about the increase of trade in London, for in 1569 the founda- 
tion was laid of toe Royal Exchange for the use of merchants. Many 
refugees, driven from their natives countries by the troubles of the 
times, settled in England, the best of the workmen in the Metropolis. 
Prom various causes London grew so fast as to alarm the authorities, 
who therefore issued a proclamation forbidding the erection of any new 
buildings, for that there was lack of room to wakj and sport, increased 
danger of plague and fire, besides the trouble of governing so great a 
multitude. London was then about one-four teeuth of its present 
size. 

The poor in this reign gave considerable trouble, and several laws passed 
to put down vagrancy, they however proving ineffective, a general 
statute was enacted (1601) which amended and embodied the provisions 
of all preceding statutes on the same subject. 

Chronicle. 1562, Hawkins employs three ships for transporting 
slaves from Guinea; this was the first attempt of the English to engage 
in that infamous traffic. 1556, The Trinity House empowered to erect 
and maintain beacons and sea-marks ; to remove any steeples, trees, or 
other sea-marks rendered punishable by a fine of £100. 1584, First 
attempt of the English to found a colony ; it was promoted by Sir Walter 
Raleigh, and named Virginia in honour of the queen. About this time 
potatoes and tobacco introduced into this country from America, but 
whether by Raleigh, Drake, or Hawkins, is uncertain. 1569, The 
stocking-frame invented by the Rev. Mr. Lee, of Cambridge ; before 
this time people wore cloth hose. 1598, The Bodleian Library founded 
at Oxford by Sir Thomas Boaley. 1600, East India Company incor- 
porated. 1601, The celebrated poor-law of Elizabeth passed. 

Social Life in the Tudor Period. 

1. Food. Among the higher classes the hours of meals were eight, 
twelve, and six, when they partook of solid joints oi beef and mutton, 
bread, and copious draughts of ale. Even court ladies commenced and 
ended the day with broiled steaks and flagons of ale, or sometimes a 
beaker of wine. Both bread and meat were still presented on the point 
of a knife, and, in the absence of forks, the fingers were freely used. 
Although plenty generally prevailed, there were then many privations 
which would now be thougut to be intolerable. For the greater part of 



THE TUDOR PERIOD. l25 

the year, the fcesh meat was salt, as the general curing time wui 
autumn, and, till the next midsummer, there were no means of fattening 
rattle for want of pasture. Those who lived by the sea could have the 
luxury of fresh fish, but the inhabitants of the inland districts only 
salt fish, except what could be had from the stevys. 

The diet of the poor consisted of rye and barley bread, butter-milk, 
bacon, and a few pot herbs. In years of scarcity, and they were rather 
frequent, their bread was made of beans, peas, or oats, and when these 
were not to be had, such herbs and roots as could be got. Fresh meat 
they rarely had, but in Lent they had salt fish. At bridals and merry- 
makings each guest brought one or more dishes, and thus a feast was 
provided. 

2. Clothing. Males of the middle class wore the doublet or 
jacket, fastened round the waist with a belt, a short cloak, low caps or 
nigh sugar-loaf hats, and a sword. The higher class was distinguished 
by a scarlet cloak, and gold hat-band and feather. Leather small- 
clothes and tunics continued to be worn by the lower grades. The 
sixteenth century was noted for the slashing style — large gashes, 
through which the fine linen was puffed out : to keep the sides of the 
slit from opening too far, they were tied with points. Gentlemen wore 
frills and ruffs, but they were not attached to the linen till the next 
century. 

Of the dress of females, the most conspicuous feature was the 
fardingale or hoop for spreading the skirts, and the enormous ruff of 
linen or cambric, which led to the introduction of starch. These ruffs 
grew at last so high, that Elizabeth ordered persons to be stationed 
about London, to cut down those that exceeded a given height. A 
waiscoat, similar to that of males, obtained patronage for a time, as 
did also detached sleeves that could be worn with any dress. The 
head-dresses were various, some wore a cap like a soup plate, but the 
most common was the miniver, or triangulr.r cap. Cloth hose gave 
way to stockings knitted of silk or wool ; silk stockings were however 
so much a rarity as to be deemed a fitting present to queen Elizabeth. 
Mary of Scots wore blue worsted stockings at her execution. Both 
sexes carried pocket looking-glasses, the ladies carrying theirs in their 
girdles, or set in their fans of ostrich feathers. It is amusing to learn 
that Elizabeth regulated the making of pins by act of parliament, 
which made it imperative that in future pins should have points and 
heads. 

The age of sumptuary laws was not quite extinct. In the reign of 
Mary, it was enacted that unless persons had a regular income of twenty 
pounds a year, they should not wear " any manner of silk in or upon 
their hat, bonnet, nightcap, girdle, hose, shoes, scabbard, or spur-leathers, 
on pain of three months' imprisonment, and a fine of ten pounds for 
every day's wearing contrary to the tenour of this act." 

3. Dwellings. The residence of the nobility underwent great 
change in this period. Feudalism had now passed away and with it th s 
castellated architecture, and the first attempt to soften down the mer e 
fortress mav be said to have originated what is called the Tudor style. 
Among the chief characteristics of thia kind of structure were its quad- 
rangular shape, with open enclosed courts, large halls, open corrid.orj 
with galleries above, groups of turrets, many high gables, ornam ental 
groups of chimneys, immense surfaces of windows, and large lofty oriels. 
The gateways still retained much of their castellated form and propor- 



126 0UTLINE8 OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

tions. In the latter part of the period, the Italian 8ty»e became intej- 
mixed with the remains of the Gothic, and is known as the Elizabethan 
style. On Eccount of the rude finish of the interior walls, it was still a 
common practice to hang tapestry, and not unfrequently upon a separate 
framework of wood set up for that purpose. The great hall became now 
appropriated to its modern use, that of a mere entrance, and the Italian 
mode of placing the principal apartment on the upper floor, led to the 
enlargement and decoration of the staircase, henceforth a main feature 
in noble houses. 

The town buildings still retained the construction that marked the 
middle ages, that of overhanging storeys, which indeed lasted as long as 
wooden buildings continued, and the majority was such to the end of 
the period. Glass windows were uncommon, and where used at all, 
they were fixed in the frame, so that the only ventilation was 
through the chinks of the building; this it is said led to the frequent 
attacks of the sweating sickness. Holinshed, who wrote in the time ot 
Elizabeth, says that in most of the country towns, there were but two 
or three chimneys ; the fire was usually made against the wall, and the 
smoke left to find its way out through the door, latticed window, er hole 
in the roof. In the rural districts, the houses were still built of " sticks 
and mud," and many of the farm houses united house, offices, and stable, 
under one roof. 

In all cases the furniture remained of the most simple character. 
Even rooms of state were matted, and ordinary rooms in palaces 
covered with rushes ; carpets they had, but they were mostly employed 
for covering tables. Forms and stools were used in noble nouses 
more than chairs. A nobleman's bedroom is described as containing 
a turn-up bedstead, one chair, three boxes for clothes, and window 
curtains. The chamber of Henry VIII. contained a pair of cupboards, 
a stool, two andirons, a pair of tongs, firepan, and a steel mirror. 
Furniture was in general so scarce, that the nobles carried it about 
with them, even to their glass windows. At the commencement of the 
period, the people slept on a straw pallet, or on mats with a log 
for a pillow; when a man rose to a flock bed and a sack of chaff for a 
billow, he thought himself as well lodged as a lord. Things improved 
during the reign of Elizabeth, for then some substantial yeoman could 
boast of pewter plates in lieu of trenchers, and in a few cases a feather 
bed. 

4. Amubemekts. The Mysteries of the 15th century were now 
succeeded by the Moralities, in which the virtues and vices were re- 
presented by allegorical characters. The Reformation ended such 
representations, and led to the introduction of the modern drama. 
At first the performances took place in large wooden booths, with but 
anperfect costumes; this soon improved, and regularly built theatreG 
began to appear. In the reign of Elizabeth, the performances usually 
commenced at one o'clock, and were announced by the hoisting of e 
flag. The best of the audience paid sixpence and sat upon stools or the 
stage ; gentlemen's servants stood behind to supply their masters with 
pipes and tobacco. The common people in the pit also smoked and drank 
ale. No woman as yet took part in the performance, their part fell to 
boys. 

The other amusements were still of a barbarous character. Bear and 
bull baiting delighted all classes : Elizabeth continued a devotee to this 
sport to her old age. Ladies hunted, and if in at the conclusion of the 



JAME8 I. 127 

sport, a knife was presented to one of them, that she might cut the 
deer's throat with her own hand. Horse-racing now commenced as a 
regular amusement, and gambling became so extensive as to call for 
special enactment to put it down. Tobacco was no sooner introduced 
than smoking became a regular pastime, everybody smoked, judges on 
the bench and criminals on the scaffold ; ladies also addicted themselves 
to the same practice. Tlr- rapid increase of town population led to the 
building out of the old tilt yards, shooting butts, village greens, and other 
places of out-door recreation. That class of healthy amusement there- 
fore declined, and a foundation was laid for tavern tippling, and other 
unhealthy practices. 

6. Travelling, lew persons travelled much, except those of the 
higher classes and men on business. Those who rode did so on horse- 
back, for wheel carriages were impracticable from the state of the roads ; 
females, even queens, rode on a pillion behind their servants. So little 
communication was there between the different parts of the country, 
that Henry VII. going to Bath, paid a special messenger to go on 
before, to ascertain whether there was any sickness in that city. In the 
reign of Mary, a kind of riding waggon was introduced, but as it had 
no springs, ladies preferred the pillion. In 1564, a coach with springs 
was introduced by a Dutchman, whom the queen made her coachman. 
Some people said it was a crab-shell brought from China, others that it 
was one of the pagan temples in which cannibals worshipped the devil. 
It however came into use, so far as the roads would permit. It is evi- 
dent from what has been said, that the means of intercommunication 
between friends were very limited, it was even more so than appears, for 
no regular means for the transit of letters appear till the time of the 
Stuarts. Letters could only be forwarded by special messengers, or by a 
chance opportunity. 

HOUSE OP STUART. 
James I. 1603—1625. Chables II. 1660—1685. 

Charles 1. 1625—1649. James II. 1685—1688. 

Common wealth. 1649—1660, William III. 1689—1702. 

Anne 1702—1714. 

JAMES I. 1603-1625. 

Kotal Family. James I. (1603—1625), the son of Mary of Scots 
by her second husband, lord Darnley, was crowned king of Scotland id 
1567 ; in his twelfth year he took the government into his cwn hands, at 
the request of the council. In 1585, he entered into alliance with 
Elizabeth, receiving from England a pension of £5,000 a year; the 
execution of his mother did not interfere with this relationship, for 
though he talked largely he did nothing else. Such was the turbulence 
of the Scottish nobles during this period, that two attempts were macL* 
to seize the king's person, one called the Eaid of Ruthven proved 
successful, and J ames was held a prisoner at large for ten months. His 
accession to the throne of England was upon the whole of advantage to 
the people, for under his W3ak government the foundation was laid for 



128 G&TLINE8 OF ENGLISH HISTOR1. 

the succsssful reassertion of public liberties. " His capacity was con- 
siderable, but fitter to discourse on general maxims than to conduet any 
intricate business: his intentions were just, but more adapted to the 
conduct of private life than to the government of kingdoms. Awkward 
in his person and ungainly in his manners, he was ill- qualified to 
command respect : partial and undiscerning in his affections, he was little 
fitted to acquire general love. ,, 

The consort of James, Anne of Denmark (1575 — 1619), daughter of 
Frederick II,, was married by proxy in 1589, but, being driven to Nor- 
way by a storm, James made a voyage to bring his bride to Scotland. 
Her gaiety gave the king some uneasiness, whilst the improvement 
she wrought in the court offended the nobles, who had been accus- 
tomed to treat with insult the ladies about the palace. On the acces- 
sion of her husband to the English throne, she was allowed £6,376 
p, year, to which was afterwards added £3,000 more, for her extrava- 
gance made her always in debt. Generally she took little part in 
public affairs, and the latter part of her life was spent in privacy, on 
account of the long illno3S that preceded her death. Anne, in educa- 
tion and intelligence, ranks below most English queens, and she is 
said to have been further characterised by excess of petulance and 
frivolity. 

The children of James were — Henry Frederick, died 1612 ; Charles, 
who became king j and Elizabeth, married Frederick, Elector Palatine. 

I. Main and Bye plots, 1603. 

The Main Plot was in favour of Arabella Stuart, who like James 
was descended from Margaret, daughter of Henry VII. Perhaps 
there was no serious intention to place Arabella on the throne, 
but the proximity of her descent furnished a plausible pretext 
for certain men whom James had offended, to disturb the govern- 
ment. Such were Raleigh, the lords Cobham and Grey, and the 
earl of Northumberland, all of whom had something to complain 
of in connection with the new sovereign. At the same time there 
was on foot a Bye Plot, or an arrangementbetweensome Puritans 
and Catholics to seize the person of the king, and force from him 
a larger measure of religious tolerance. These two conspiracies 
became mixed together and the leaders of both seized, so soon as 
the matter was revealed by one of the party. Three of the Bye 
conspirators suffered death, and others were banished ; Cobham, 
Grey, and Raleigh, though condemned to death, were spared the 
extreme penalty, but committed to perpetual imprisonment. 

II. Hampton Court conference. 1604. 

The Puritans had in the previous reign occasioned mud trouble 
to the government; they not only refused to accept the Reforma- 
tion as settled by the authorities, but thought it their duty to do 
battle against existing institutions, principally by means of the 
press. So intemperate were some of their publications, tbatth J 



JAMES I. 129 

government prosecuted, and in some cases brought the offending 

Earties to the scaffold ; many suffered heavy penalties, and others 
jft the country altogether. Under these circumstances the 
Puritans looked forward with pleasure to the accession of James, 
in the hope of obtaining from him considerable concessions ; in- 
deed, they felt sure of them, as James had been bred a Presbyterian 
and had made some promises to their party. A petition was pre- 
pared, called the Millenary Petition, embodying the principal 
points on which they sought change : — " (1) Objections to the 
church service : (2) Pluralities, non-residence, and unpreaching 
ministers : (3) The better maintenance of the parochial clergy, 
which might be effected by restoring to them the greater part of 
ecclesiastical impropriations, and a sixth or seventh of all the lay 
ones : (4) The redress of church discipline." 

To consider these complaints, a conference was held at Hamp- 
ton Court Palace, at which were present representatives of the 
Established Church and the Puritan party. After three meetings, 
the following results were agreed upon ; — some slight alterations 
in the Book of Common Prayer; an addition to the Catechism, of 
the part respecting the sacraments ; that baptism should be ad- 
ministered only by a lawful minister ; that no part of the Apocry- 
pha repugnant to Scripture should be read ; that the number of 
judges in the High Commission Court should be limited ; and 
that a new translation of the Bible should be made. With these 
results the Puritans felt much dissatisfied, and greatly blamed 
their representatives for not having done justice to their cause. 

III. Gunpowder plot. 1605. 

All through the reign of Elizabeth the Catholics had endured 
great persecution, not so much for their religion as for the part 
they took in politics. Looking upon Mary of Scots as the rightful 
claimant to the throne, and on that account suffering both in 
their persons and property, they anticipated relief from the hands 
of James. But he found himself under the necessity of proceed- 
ing against them with increased severity, this so provoked some 
of the more violent that they entered into a conspiracy to blow 
up the king and parliament. For this purpose, Catesby, Winter, 
Fawkes, and several others banded themselves together by oath to 
accomplish what they had undertaken. A cellar under the House 
of Lords was hired, and thirty-six barrels of gunpowder with 
other combustibles deposited there. As the time drew on, one 
or more of the conspirators, desiring to save their friends from 
destruction, sent them warning ; a message of this kind to lord 
Montea-cdfi was the occasion of the discovery of the whole affair 



330 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

On the cellar being searched, Guy Fawkee was found with big 
dark lantern and the train ready laid. 

As soon as it was known that the secret had been betrayed, 
the conspirators in town started off for Dunchurch, thence they 
travelled with all speed to Holbeach, where being set upon by 
the sheriffs, some were injured by the explosion of their own 
gunpowder, others were shot down, and some contrived to es- 
cape. But the principal conspirators were soon in the hands 
of the officers, and executed as traitors. Out of this affair grew 
an insurrection in 1607. The estates of Tresham and others 
were granted to favourites, and the new proprietors encroached od 
the common lands ; the people not finding redress took on them- 
selves to level the fences. This movement was not suppressed 
till many persons had been slain by the soldiers, and others 
taken prisoners. 

IV. Growing power of the Commons. 

No point in the reign is more important than this, for it was 
really the commencement of that struggle which ended in the 
death of Charles I. During the time of the Tudors, the house 
of commons appeared as though it had lost its ancient power ; 
this was owing to several causes — that the peerage was almost a 
new creation, that the house of commons was principally filled 
with the creatures of the court, and that the Tudor sovereigns 
were possessed of great personal vigour. It is true, however, that 
towards the close of the reign of Elizabeth the lower house began 
to show signs of returning life, and it is also true that James, by 
his pretensions to absolute sovereignty, tended to provoke re- 
sistance. M He told his parliament, that as it was blasphemy to 
question what the Almighty could do by His power, so it was 
sedition to inquire what a king could do by virtue of his prero 
gative." On the question of the prerogative there was a quarrel 
in his very first parliament, and his majesty was told by the 
fepeaker that " new laws could not be instituted, nor imperfect 
laws reformed, nor inconvenient laws abrogated, by any other 
»>ower than that of the high court of parliament." Towards the 
end of the reign the commons presented a petition against the 
growth of popery, and hinted their dislike that prince Charles 
should marry a papist. James expressed his high displeasure that 
ti ey should have meddled with what concerned his government : 
thereupon the commons entered upon their journals a protest, in 
which they claimed the right of "freedom of speech to propound, 
treat, reason, and bring to conclusion any affairs concerning the 
king, state, and defence of the realm " The king, in a passion. 



;ames i. 131 

*3Dt for the journals, and tore out the protest with his own 
hands, in the presence of the council. 

Another cause of difference between the king and the commons 
arose out of the matter of revenue. Subsidies and fifteenths 
yielded less than they had done, and the want of thrift in the king 
made the public income appear less than it really was. In con- 
sequence of his disagreements with his parliaments, James 
obtained less in a legal way than he might have done ; to make 
up the deficiency, he was driven to expedients that tended to in- 
crease his unpopularity. It was on this account that so great an 
outcry was raised about the grievances of purveyance and ward- 
ships, which though not illegal were unduly pressed on the people. 
Monopolies were increased, and additional duties laid, by procla- 
mation, on nearly every article of foreign commerce. Peerages, 
honours, and places were sold for money, and yet the public 
servants were often unpaid and obliged to support themselves by 
bribes and peculations. All through the reign, it was evident 
that the commons could no longer be controlled as they had been, 
for they complained unceasingly of these abuses of the govern- 
ment. They revived the exercise of their privilege of impeaching 
public offenders before the house of lords ; one case was that of 
the celebrated lord Bacon for bribery. In the last parliament 
James found himself compelled to give way, and consent to the 
abolition of all monopolies as contrary to the laws of the realm 

V. The King's favourites. 

In nothing is the weakness of James's character so fully shown, 
as in his placing himself so completely in the hands of unworthy 
favourites. First came Robert Carr, the page of a Scotch noble. 
Falling by accident under the notice of the king, he schooled and 
then knighted him ; subsequently he was made lord-treasurer and 
chamberlain, and created viscount Rochester and earl of Somerset. 
Though without experience or capacity for business, he acted for 
a time as prime minister. In the height of his fame, he married 
the divorced wife of the earl of Essex, and with her contrived the 
murder of Overbury his secretary, for having opposed their union. 
For this atrocious crime all the parties were condemned, but 
James spared the principals whilst he executed the accomplices. 
The next favourite was George Villiers, better known as the 
duke of Buckingham. The son of a Leicestershire knight, he had 
the good fortune to attract the notice of James, who in a few 
years passed him through the various degrees of the peerage, to 
be the first noble in the land. His power over the king became 
absolute. In opposition to the wishes of his royal master, he 
earned off Prince Charles to Spain, to woo in person the 



132 0UTLINE8 OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

Infanta ; a freak which not only failed in its purpose, but dis- 
gusted both the Spanish and English nations, and led to a war. 
All the principal offices of state were filled with the creatures of. 
this favourite, and the subsequent troubles of the nation must be 
attributed in part to ais folly. 

V£. Founding of colonies. 

In the early part of this reign, the flight of the earls of Tyrone 
and Tyrconnel from Ireland, and the failure of O'Dogherty's 
revolt, put about two million acres at the disposal of the crown. 
It was therefore proposed to carry out the scheme commenced 
in the raignof Elizabeth, that of apportioning the land to English 
settlers, in parcels not exceeding 2,000 acres. In this way 
colonies of English and Scotch were planted in Ulster, Munster, 
and other parts of Ireland. That country was further advantaged 
in this reign, by putting down the old Brehon law, by which 
every kind of crime could be atoned for by a fine, and the customs 
of gavelkind and tanistry, which made landed property so un- 
certain in its tenure, that no one cared to improve it. 

Prnglish colonies were also planted in North America. Sir 
Walter Raleigh had made the attempt in the previous reign, but 
without success. In 1607, about a hundred Englishmen landed 
on the peninsula of Jamestown, in Chesapeake Bay ; more fortu- 
nate than their predecessors they established themselves, and 
towards the end of the reign were reinforced at the rate of a 
thousand a year. 

In 1620, a second colony was founded by a party of puritan 
refugees from Holland, who had sought in that country a reli- 
gious toleration, which they did not find in their own. Embark- 
ing at Leyden in two small vessels, they found themselves under 
the necessity of putting into Plymouth, and dismissing the 
smaller one as unseaworthy. The remaining vessel, the May- 
flower, carried over a hundred persons, including women and 
children. In memory of the kindness received at Plymouth, the 
Pilgrim Fathers, as these emigrants are called, named tkeir first 
settlement New Plymouth. 

Miscellaneous Facts. In 1604, commissioners were appointed tc 
treat with the Scots for a union between the two kingdoms ; nothing 
came of it, for the people of Scotland thought a union would imply 
their subjection to the English, and the English disliked the idea, from 
a fear that their country would be devoured by the poor and hungry 
Scots. For his connexion with the Main Plot, Raleigh had been committed 
to the Tower. After thirteen years confinement, he was released te 
take charge of an expedition to Guiana, where it was thought a gold 
mine would be found. The expedition proved a failure, and the un- 
fortunate Sir Walter was executed ir 1618, on the oround of his former 



CHARLES 1. 133 

conviction. James is said to have sanctioned this cruel procedure, in 
order to forward the marriage between prince Charles and the Infanta. 
In this reign commenced the celebrated "Thirty Years' War" (1618 — 
1648), which originated in Frederic, the son-in-law of James, having 
accepted the crown of Bohemia from the rebels. Instead of gaining 9 
kingdom, he lost his electorate. The English generally desired to give 
him assistance, but James would not consent till the last year of his 
reign, when about 12,000 men were raised and placed under count 
Mansfeldt ; nothing came of this expedition but the loss of half the men 
Cj the time they reached the Continent. 

Chronicle. 1611, The present authorised version of the Bible 
completed. 1612, The English, by permission of the Great Mogul, 
establish factories at Surat and other places. 1619, Dr. Hervey pub- 
lished his discovery of the circulation of the blood. Lord Dudley 
attempts to smelt irol> with coal, but the works are destroyed by a 
mob. 1621, The manufacture of broad silk and cotton introduced about 
mis time. Licenses first granted to public houses. 1622, First news- 
paper published — " The News of the Present Week." 1624, Interest 
reduced from ten to eight per >eut. 



CHARLES I. 1625-1649. 

Eotal Family. Charles I., (1600—1649) the son of James L and 
Anne of Denmark, was born at Dunfermline. In 1612, he became 
heir apparent by the death of his elder brother Henry. His progress in 
general learning, especially theology, gave great satisfaction to his 
father. After the power of Buckingham was established, Charles sub- 
mitted himself principally to his influence, which proved eminently in- 
jurious as well to the nation as to the prince. Hume thus characterises 
the unfortunate Charles. " His beneficent disposition was clouded by a 
manner not very gracious; his virtue was tinctured with superstition; 
his good sense was disfigured by a deference to persons of a capacity 
inferior to his own; and his moderate temper exempted him not from 
haste and precipitate resolutions. He deserves the epithet of a good 
rather than of a great man ; and was more fitted to rule in a regular 
established government, than either to give way to the encroach men f ,s 
of a popular assembly, or finally to subdue their pretensions." 

The consort of Charles was Henrietta Maria (1609 — 1669), daughter of 
Henry IV. of France. The year after her birth, her father fell by the 
hand of Eavaillac. Her remaining parent, Mary de Medici, was an 
mperious, violent, and vindictive woman, and of all persons " the worst 
calculated to train a future queen-consort for England, and the sorrows 
of her daughter in future life, doubtless were aggravated by the foolish 
notions of the infallibility of sovereigns, which had been instilled into 
Her young mind." Charles first saw her when on his way to Spain to 
wed the Infanta, and, on the failure of the Spanish match, made 
Henrietta an offer of his hand. The marriage took place at Canterbury 
(June 13, 1625), and proved th . cause of many of the king's troubles, 
^or some of his most unwise measures are said to have been forced upon 
him, by the violent spirit of his queen. To the puritan party, the 
marriage treaty gave much offence, because it stipulated for lenity 
towards iihe Romanists. On the breaking out of the civil war, ths 



134 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

queen went to the Continent to procure aid and the materials of van 
In 1643, she landed at Burlington, and in the year following, having 
given birth to her youngest daughter at Exeter, she fled to France. 
After the execution of her husband, she married Jermyn, earl of St. 
Albans, and subsequently to the Restoration, resided for a time at 
Somerset House. Her death took place at St. Columbe, near Paris. 

The children of Charles were: — Charles, who became king ; Mary, 
married William prince of Orange, by whom she became the mother of 
William III. of England ; James, who became king ; Elizabeth, died at 
Oarisbrooke Castle ; Henry, duke of G loucester, died 1660; and Henrietta 
Maria, married Philip, duke of Orleans. 

I. Contentions with his first parliaments. 1625 — 1629. 

In the commons, two parties had become clearly developed, 
the court party in favour of the kingly prerogatives, the country 
party in favour of the liberties of the people, nor was it long 
before occasion offered to try their strength. The king, just 
married to apapist, asked for money, they replied by presenting a 
M pious petition " praying him to put into immediate execution all 
the existing laws against Catholic recusants and missionaries. 
Instead of £700,000 which the king demanded, they voted 
£140,000, and a grant of tonnage and poundage for one year 
only ; and instead of a grant for a war with Spain, they proposed 
to inquire into the conduct of Buckingham, who had been the 
cause of the war. To save his favourite, Charles dissolved his 
first parliament. 

Having prevented Coke, Wentwo th,and other leading men of 
the country party being elected, C'iarles met his second parlia- 
ment (1626). Its first measure was to appoint committees to 
inquire into the grievances of th'3 nation. As the result, reso- 
lutions passed — to enact severer la wa against papists, to complain 
of moneys being levied without consent of parliament, and to 
impeach Buckingham of high crimes and misdemeanours. The 
king forbade them to question his servants, they proceeded not- 
withstanding, and the parliament was dissolved # 

In want of money to fit out a second expedition to Roehelle, 
Charles was forced to call a third parliament (1628). The com- 
mons promised to grant five subsidies, but they were to be paid 
only on condition of the king's granting them something in re- 
turn. Their demands were four, and embodied in what is known 
as the Petition of Right ; — (1) That no man hereafter be com- 
pelled to pay any moneys to the state, without common consent 
by act of parliament : (2) That no person be imprisoned for re- 
fusing the same, nor any freeman be imprisoned without any 
cauBe showed, to which he might make answer: (3) That soldiers 



CHARLES r. 135 

and marines be not billeted in the houses of the people : (4) That 
commissions be no more issued for punishing by the summary 
process of martial law. Charles after some evasion gave hb 
assent When the parliament met in the next year, the Commons 
spoke strongly against the countenance given to Romanism, and 
the le rying of tonnage and poundage without their consent. 
For a disorderly protest against these proceedings, the king dis- 
solved his third parliament. 

II. War with Spain and France. 

War against Spain was declared in 1624 without any ground, 
except the pique of Buckingham, and the hatred of the English 
to a Catholic country. In 1625, an expedition of nearly a hun- 
dred vessels, carrying 10,000 soldiers, sailed to capture Cadiz ; a 
landing was made and many hundred men lost, but no advantage 
gained, which gave occasion to much popular outcry. No further 
attempt was made, and a peace followed in 1630. 

The war with France was also attributed to Buckingham, who 
having given great offence by his behaviour at the French court, 
revenged himself on Richelieu the minister, by a war on pretence 
of aiding the persecuted Protestants. In 1627, the duke sailed 
with a hundred vessels and 7,000 land forces to relieve Rochelle, 
but the inhabitants would not admit him into the harbour, for 
they were not informed of his purpose. He then turned aside to 
the isle of Rhe, and lost about one half his men without accom- 
plishing anything. A second expedition in 1 628, under the earl 
of Denbigh/attempted nothing. Buckingham proposed to head 
the third expedition himself, and was at Portsmouth with that 
intent, when he was assassinated by John Felton, an officer 
whom the duke had slighted. The expedition sailed under the 
earl of Lindsey, but nothing was done, and Rochelle surrendered 
to Richelieu after losing two-thirds of its inhabitants. A peace 
in 1630 ended a war which was entered into without necessity, and 
conducted without glory. 

III. Charles rules absolutely. 1629—1640. 
When Charles dissolved his third parliament, he had made up 
his mind to govern without one. Some of the popular leaders 
tie had won over, such wcio Sir Thomas Wentworth, Saville, 
Digges, Littleton, and Nov ; others were imprisoned or put to 
heavy fines. Submitting himself to the guidance of Wentworth 
end bishop Laud, Charles set at defiance what were considered 
tiie proper limits of sovereign prerogative. For centuries it had 
been illegal to take the subjects' money without consent of par* 
lieinent, and Charles had in 1628 confirmed this right, now bew- 



136 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HlS'iOBI. 

ever no method of raising money was to be disputed. Tonnage 
and poundage were levied, and if any person refused to pay, his 
goods were seized and sold. Compositions and fines were im- 
posed, under an old law, on all who had neglected to receive 
knighthood ; titles of land were called in question, and many of 
the nobles extravagantly fined ; and so were those persons who 
had built new houses in London. The system of monopolies was 
revived, and extended to salt, soap, coals, wine, leather, beer, 
iiquors, red-herrings, butter, linen, and many other articles. 

Another mode of increasing the revenue was that of levying 
money to furnish ships for the public service (1634). At first the 
assessment was only on the seaport towns, but in the next year 
it was extended to inland places. The people murmured at this 
imposition, and the judges were called upon (1636) to give their 
opinion ; this they did, declaring it lawful when the good and 
safety of the kingdom made it necessary, and of that necessity 
the king was the sole judge. John Hampden, a gentleman of 
Buckinghamshire, refused to pay, and being proceeded against, 
his cause was discussed during twelve days ; seven of the judges 
decided that the king could require an inland county to furnish 
6hips, or a sum of money by way of commutation. Hampden 
lost his cause, but the arguments in his favour, and the division oi 
the judges, did infinite disservice to the crown. Men from this 
time began to see that their entire liberties were in jeopardy. 

But it was not only that the people were illegally deprived of 
their property, they were equally unhappy with respect to their 
personal liberties. The king's commissioners turned into a com - 
modity the severity of the j udges. For n ot paying what they did 
not owe, men were put in prison ; they were released on paying 
a portion of the amount, according to their fortunes. If discon- 
tent appeared general in any county royal troop3 were sent there, 
whom the inhabitants were bound to board and lodge. But worst 
of all was the tyranny exercised by the courts of Star Chamber 
and High Commission, for the better support of the extraordinary 
ways of raising a revenue, and to protect the king's agents. 
The council, by proclamations, enjoined the people what was not 
enjoined by law, and any breach of these proclamations was 
punished by very heavy fines and imprisonments. If meu gave 
serious offence to the court, cruel and unusual punishments were 
inflicted. For example, Dr. Leighton, for his book entitled 
11 Zion's Plea against Prelacy," was publicly whipped, his ears cut 
off, his nostrils slit, and his cheeks branded with the letters SS, 
to denote that he was a sower of sedition. In like manner 
Prynne and others, for writings which reflected on the prelates, 
lost their ears, were fined, and ordered to be imprisoned for life. 



CHARLK8 



1B7 



IV. The Scotch Covenant. 1638 



When Charles visited Scotland in 1633, he was accompanied 
by Laud, upon whose services the king counted in connexi on with 
his scheme for introducing a Liturgy into the Scotch Kirk . The 
attempt was not then made. The Service-book compiled for use 
m Scotland, corresponded very nearly to that of the church of 
England, and where it differed it indicated a nearer approach to 
Uie Romish Liturgy, the whole blame of which fell on Laud, 
though he denied that he was chargeable therewith. When the 
day came for its use (1637), the people were prepared for resist- 
ance, as the character of the book had become generally known. 
The first reading was followed by groans, hisses, and shouts of 
" Down with the priest of Baal ! A pope, a pope ! Antichrist I 
&c. ; " stools, sticks, stones, and dirt were thrown at the officiat- 
ing ministers, they were even maltreated by the mob when they 
reached the street. The new service was suspended, for which 
the authorities fell under the royal censure, and were moreover 
ordered to enforce its use. A petition presented against its use 
proving ineffective, the petitioners formed " Four Tables," or 
committees, and then proceeded to frame the National Covenant 
(1638), by which nearly the whole of the Scotch nation bound 
themselves to defend the true religion — that is, to resist every 
innovation on Presbyterianism. An Assembly which met at 
Glasgow abolished the liturgy, ordinal, canons, and High Com- 
mission Court. 

To put down this resistance to authority, Charles in 1639 col- 
lected an army of 20,000 men ; the Scotch placed an equal number 
under the command of Leslie, an officer of repute who had served 
in the German wars. When the armies came into presence in 
the neighbourhood of Berwick, the ki^g opened a negotiation by 
which it was agreed that both armies should be disbanded, and a 
general assembly and parliament summoned to compose all dif- 
ferences. This arrangement is known as the " Pacification oi 
Berwick." The general assembly when it met abolished Episco 
pacy and the service-book, and the parliament went still further. 
Thereupon Charles called for the assistance of Wentworth, and 
in council it was resolved that the king be advised to call a par. 
liament, Charles's fourth parliament met April, 1640, and pro- 
ceeded first to inquire into innovations in religion, invasions of 
private property, and breaches of privilege of parliament. As 
the king wanted immediate supplies and not the discussion of 
grievances, he dissolved the parliament before it had sat three 
weeks, this led to its being called the " Short Parliament." A 
second Army of 20,000 men was now raised, but Leslie crossed 



18H OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HI8T0BV 

the Tweed with a larger force and, routing the English at New 
burn, took possession of Newcastle. The English fell back to 
York, where Charles met a " Great Council of Peers," having 
first ordered writs to issue for a new parliament. It was left to 
the peers to raise money for present necessities, and to make 
terms with the Scots. The latter was done by the " Treaty of 
Ripon" which, leaving the points in dispute to be settled by tha 
parliaments of the two countries, provided for the support of 
the Scotch army till affairs should be definitely arranged. 

V. Meeting of the Long Parliament. 1640. 

This celebrated parliament met in November, and was not 
Snail} 7 dissolved till 1660, hence its name. The commons lost nc 
time in concerting measures for the re-establishment of public 
liberty. Prynne and other victims of tho Star Chamber and 
Commission Court were ordered to be released and compensated. 
Within three weeks of their meeting, Wentworth, now earl of 
Strafford, was committed to the tower, whither archbishop Laud 
soon followed him ; others of the king's ministers fled from the 
country. But the religious zeal of the commons appeared most 
conspicuous, Catholicism they said was eating into the vitals of 
the country and must be extirpated. Hence they compelled the 
king to order the removal of all Catholics from the court and 
army, to disarm all recusants, and to banish all priests from the 
kingdom. And of their own authority the commons ordered 
"the defacing, demolishing, and quite taking away of all images, 
altars, or tables turned altar-wise, crucifixes, superstitious pic- 
tures, monuments, and reliques of idolatry, out of all churches 
and chapels " This order, executed in many cases by ignorant 
men, led to the destruction of valuable monuments, from the 
stupid notion that tomb effigies, monumental brasses, and figures 
in glass, were objects of idolatry. 

The year 1641 was marked by great changes. £ n act passed 
which provided for a new parliament at least oner m three years. 
The earl of Strafford, impeached for treason against the liberties 
of the people, was executed on Tower Hill (May '/). Ts gratify 
the Scotch, £300,000 was voted as "friendly assistance and re- 
lief/' a phrase which was better understood subsequently. The 
courts of Star Chamber and High Commission »ver9 abolished, 
and the Stannary and Forest courts regulate Thirteen bishops, 
for their share in the canons of 1640, were impeached, and thus 
kept awav from parliament. In the next session, being insulted 
on their way to the house, twelve of their uumber signed aprotesl 
against all laws, orders, votes, &c, passed during their enforced 
abseuce. for which act of theirs they were committed to the Tower. 



CHARLES I. 139 

Meanwhile Charles paid a visit to Scotland, and on the meetiug 
of the Scotch parliament (Aug. 17) confirmed the recent pro- 
ceedings against the bishops, and ordained that the parliament 
Biiould meet once in three years. He moreover took into favour 
the very men who had been most active in the late insurrections , 
Leslie he created earl of Leven, to Argyle the leader of the 
Covenanters he gave the higher title of marquis, and many others 
received promotion in the peerage and were put into offices of 
state. 

VI. The Irish rebellion. 1641. 

Wentworth, who had been deputy in Ireland since 1633, had 
given great offence to all parties. He defrauded the Catholics 
and landowners of concessions granted to them by the king, and 
for which grant they had actually paid money. The Irish Church 
lie had wronged by imposing on it the English Articles. But the 
great grievance was the forfeiture of the lands of Connaught, 
on pretence that they belonged of right to the crown. His go- 
vernment generally partook too much of tyranny. " He set up 
the authority of the executive government over that of the courts 
of law. He permitted no person to leave the island without his 
license. He established vast monopolies for his own private 
benefit. He imposed taxes arbitrarily. He levied them by 
military force." But more than all this, the mass of the people 
were Romanists, and condemned to suffer from the many penal 
Vaws against them It is not therefore surprising that they took 
Advantage of the disturbed condition of England, and as both the 
English and Scotcli had obtained concessions from the king, they 
resolved to unite for the same purpose. Roger Moore, O'Neal 
and others headed the movement. The first attempt was to cap- 
ture Dublin (Oct. 23, 1641) ; this scheme was betrayed, and 
30,000 men, now rendered desperate by failure, commenced a 
savage massacre which spread all over the country, and ended in 
the slaughter of more than 40,000 Protestants. " Eager tc 
avenge in a day ages of outrage and misery, they with a proud 
joy committed excesses which struck their ancient masters with 
1 orror and dismay." In consequence of the subsequent troubles 
in England, it was several years before this war was extinguished. 

VII. Rupture between Charles and his parliament. 
1642. 

The proceedings of the parliament in its first year were ener- 
getic in the redress of public grievances, in some cases violent, 
but not more so than might have been expected from a reactionary 
movement. When the Houses met again, they were startled first 



140 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH rilBTORY. 

oy news of the events in Ireland, and next by the hearty recep- 
tion given to the king by the citizens of London, on his ret uria 
from the north. Professing to doubt the king's sincerity in 
making the late concessions, the commons published a paper 
called The Remonstrance, setting forth at length every grievance 
since the commencement of the reign, and praying the king to 
employ only such counsellors and ministers as might enjoy the 
confidence of the parliament. Its purpose evidently was to in- 
crease the prevailing dissatisfaction, and this it accomplished, fo* 
the Cavaliers and Roundheads, as the partisans of the court and 
parliament were called, began to assemble about the palace, and 
daily skirmishes took place. It was now that the twelve bishops 
protested and were sent to the Tower. Four days after, lord 
Kimbolton, with Hollis, Hampden, Pym, Haslerig, and Strode, 
the most distinguished leaders of the country party, were im- 
peached by order of the king. As the lords made some delay, 
Charles went in person to seize them in the house ; they escaped, 
and the king retired covered with confusion. He now quitted 
Whitehall for Hampton, and in a few days his queen embarked 
at Dover for Holland. Both parties began to prepare for war, 
though negotiations still went on. The final rupture was on the 
question of the militia, or in other words the command of the 
armed forces of the kingdom ; the commons demanded it, but the 
king refused and withdrew to York. Whilst there further pro- 
positions were made : — that the parliament should have the ap- 
proval of the king's ministers, council, and judges ; the regulating 
of the education and marriage of the royal children ; the disposal 
of the militia, and the approval of all commanders of forts ; and 
the reform of the church. No agreement being come to, the 
parliament chargedaCommittee of Safety with the public defence, 
and ordered an army to be raised * for the defence of the king 
and parliament." 

VIII. The Civil War. 1642-1648. 

As soon as the parliament had decided to appeal to the sword 
the fleet was committed to the earl of Warwick, and the land 
forces to the earl of Essex. This party found its chief support 
in London, the town populations, and the yeomen of the country ; 
on the other side range dthree-fourths of the nobility and principal 
gentry with tneir retainers. After an unsuccessful attempt to 
obtain possession of Hull, Charles set up his standard at Not- 
tingham (Aug. 22), which act was deemed equivalent to a decla- 
ration of hostilities. The royal army was placed under the 
vommand of the earl of Lindsey. Blood was first drawn iu a 
cavalry skirmish at Powich bridge (Sei)t 23), the king's head- 



CHARLES I. 14J 

quarters being then at Shrewsbury . Essex remaining inactive at 
Worcester, the king moved his army witn the intention of march- 
irg on London. The parliamentary army followed, and a battle 
was fought at Edgehill (Oct. 23), in which 4,000 men are said to 
have fallen ; neither party could claim a victory. After this, 
Rupert, the nephew of Charles, engaged the enemy at Brentford, 
(Nov. 12), in the hope of getting into London, but was foiled in 
the attempt. 

In the early part of 1643, a negotiation for peace was carried 
on at Oxford, without result; and the queen landed at Burlington, 
with supplies of men and arms. Essex opened the campaign with 
the siege of Reading, which surrendered in ten days. About 
two months after, his outposts were beaten at Chinnor by Ru- 
pert's horse, and on the following morning Hampden trying to 
stop the passageof the royalists in Chalgrove-field (June 18), was 
mortally wounded. Meanwhile Waller the poet and other per- 
sons were found embarked in a plot to admit the king's forces 
into London ; two of the conspirators were hanged, the others 
imprisoned. The cause of the parliament seemed on the decline, 
for their forces were beaten successively at Stratton (May 16), 
Aiherton Moor (June 30), Lansdown (July 5), and at Round 
way Down (July 13). Ail the principal towns of the west fell 
to the royalists, even Bristol surrendered after a siege of only 
three days ; Gloucester held out, and Charles formed its siege. 
To save that city, Essex was despatched with 12,000 men ; on 
his reaching Prestbury Hills, the royalists fired their huts and re- 
tired. Charles moved towards London, and Essex followed. 
The two armies came into contact at Newbury (Sept. 20) ; the 
battle raged all day, and 2,000 men fell ; on the side of the king 
there fell lord Falkland, " the glory of the royalist party." 

In the meantime, negotiations had being going on between 
the parliamentarians and the Scots, which after a promise was 
made of reforming the Church of England, ended in the Covenant 
being sanctioned by both houses of parliament (Sept. 18), and 
ordered to be taken by all persons in office. This compact was 
called The Solemn League and Covenant. By the league, or civil 
art, the Scots undertook to supply 21,000 men, to be kept in pay 
y the English. In the same year the Assembly of Divines com- 
menced its sittings at Westminster. Its purpose was to promote 
uniformity of worship in the two countries, which meant the 
substitution of Presbyterianism for Episcopacy. 

In 1644 fortune favoured the parliament. Towards the end 
of tha preceding year, Ormond, the king's lieutenant in Ireland, 
sent over five regiments to the assistance of his master. At first 
thev met with success, but Fairfax the younger defeated them 



I 



142 OUTLINED OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

at Nantwich (Jan. 25) ; among the prisoners was cclonel Mont, 
who afterwards figured at the restoration. This success was 
balanced however by the defeat of general Waller at Cropredy- 
Bridye (June 29). The Scotch army according to agreement, 
entered England, and joining their forces with those of Fairfax, 
shut up the marquis of Newcastle in York ; Manchester and hie 
'lieutenant, Cromwell, brought to their aid a third army. To 
relieve the capital of the north, Charles ordered his nephew to 
hasten to Yorkshire. On his arrival, the parliamentarians raised 
the siege, and a battle followed at Marston Moor (July 2), in 
which the royalists were utterly routed, chiefly by Cromwell 
and his " Ironsides" ; 4,000 were buried on the field. This 
victory ruined the royal cause in the north. In the west it was 
more fortunate, for Essex allowed himself to be shut up in 
Lostwithiel, and his infantry was forced to capitulate to the king. 
In the same month, the king's cause brightened in Scotland under 
Montrose, who won the battle of Tippermuir, and obtained pos- 
session of Aberdeen, which endured a sack of three da} r s. The 
campaign closed with the indecisive battle oiNewbui^y (Oct. 27). 

In the early part of this year (1644) Charles attempted z. 
counter parliament at Oxford without result. From March to 
November. Laud's trial was going on; the old man was eventually 
attainted for designing to subvert the subjects' liberties and re- 
ligion. His execution took place in January, 1645. 

At the commencement of 1645, another attempt was made at 
negotiation ; commissioners met at Uxbridge, but nothing was 
concluded. A more important matter was the Self-denying 
Ordinance which passed in April ; its object was to remove from 
commands in the army certain officers who were supposed to be 
lukewarm in the cause. Essex and others now resigned their 
commissions, but Cromwell and a few more were continued as 
exceptional cases. The entire army had been new modelled to 
secure a majority of Independents,and entrusted to the command 
of Sir Thomas Fairfax, with Cromwell at the head of the cavalry. 
After some successes on both sides, the two armies fought at 
Naseby (June 14) ; this battle ruined the royal cause. Besides 
the slain, 5,000 prisoners were left on the field, with an immense 
number of arms, and, what was worse than all, the king's private 
cabinet of papers and letters. Some of these were published to 
prove the insincerity of the king. Fairfax now reduced the west, 
while Charles, attempting to relieve Chester was defeated at 
Rowton Moor (Sept. 24). Montrose still in the field, gave the 
Covenanters a terrible defeat at Kilsyth (Aug. 15), but was him- 
self completely routed at Philiphaugh (Sept. 13). 

In 1C4G Fairfax having extinguished tl e royal cause in the 



CHARLES I. 143 

west, formed the siege of Oxford ; the king fearing lest he should 
become a prisoner, stole out in the night and, after much hesita- 
tion, took refuge with the Scotch army, near Newark. Here he 
found himself little else than a prisoner, and the English parlia- 
ment, in doubt of the intentions of the Scots, ordered them to 
be watched. Thereupon, Leven retired with the king to New. 
castle, at which place propositions for agreement were again 
offered, but rejected by Charles. By an arrangement now made 
with the Scots, they were to withdraw from England on the 
parliament's guaranteeing a payment of £400,000, to cover the 
moneys due to the Scotch army, half before they left England, 
and the remainder in two years. The person of Charles was 
voted to be in the parliament. 

On the 30th of January, 1647, the first moiety of the money 
being paid, Charles was transferred to the English commissioners, 
the Scottish parliament having first given its full consent for de- 
livering up the king, in order to strengthen the peace between 
the two kingdoms. The king was removed to llolmby. No 
sooner was the first civil war ended, than a struggle for supre- 
macy commenced between the parliament and the army. The 
latter proceeded to mutiny, and a detachment of horse, under 
cornet Joyce, carried off the king to Newmarket (June 4). It 
was now a contest between the Presbyterians and Independents ; 
at the head of the Jatterwas Cromwell, whose energy of character 
gave his party the victory. Proposals from the army were made to 
Charles, he refused them in the belief that the growing struggle 
between the two parties would enable him to give iaw to both. 
Removed to Hampton Court (Aug. 16), the king had for a time a 
iarge measure of liberty and the company of his friends, but the 
rise of the Levellers, or ultra-republicans, brought a change. 
Cromwell, who would have made terms with the king, found him- 
self suspected, and therefore obliged to make his peace with the 
army; in December a general reconciliation took place, of which 
■:he king's ruin was the condition. Meanwhile Charles, in fear of 
uesigns on his life, had made his escape from Hampton (Nov. 12), 
in two days he took up his abode in Carisbrooke castle. Here 
;erms were again offered to him, both by the parliament and the 
Scotch commissioners; the latter were successful on promise oi 
a Scotch army to restore the king, the former he rejected. 

In 1648, the royalists made another effort in favour of their 
sovereign, and met with partial success, but were ultimately de- 
feated in Wales, at Maidstone, and Colchester. The Scots fared 
no better, for though they reached Preston they met with defeat 
and were compelled to retire across the borders. During the em- 
ployment of the army in putting down the second civil war the 



144 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORF. 

parliament sent commissioners to Newport to treat with tne kujg i 
and terms were concluded. But the army, dissatisfied with what 
had been done, carried off the king to Hurst castle (Nov. 30), and 
on the 6th of December, colonel Pride " purged " the house of 
eommons of the leading Presbyterians. The house now con- 
sisted of only fifty Independents, and is subsequently known as 
the " Rump Parliament." Charles was removed to Windsor 
(Dec. 22), and his impeachment resolved on by the Rump. 

IX. Trial and execution of the king. 1649. 

On the 1st of January, the committee appointed for that pur- 
pose reported that " Charles Stuart, for accomplishing of his 
designs, and for the protecting of himself and his adherents in his 
and their wicked practices, to the same ends hath traitorously and 
maliciously levied war against the present parliament and the 
people therein represented." The lords rejected the charge of 
treason, but there were only twelve peers present in the house. 
Thereupon the commons voted : That the commons of England 
in parliamentassembled,dodeclare thatthe people are. under God, 
the origin of all just power, and that what they declare law is 
so, although the consent of king or peers be not had thereto. 
For the trial of the king, a High Court of Justice was erected, 
to consist of 135 commissioners, and presided over by Bradshaw, 
a lawyer. The trial lasted from the 20th to the 27th, but on nc 
day was there more than half the commissioners present. Charles 
conducted himself with dignity, he refused to acknowledge tho 
authority of the court, and protested against its proceedings; the 
court nevertheless adjudged him u as a tyrant, traitor, murderer, 
and public enemy to the good people of this nation, to be put to 
death by severing his head from his body." Charles passed the 
28th in pious conference withbishop Juxon, and on the29th took 
farewell of his two children, the princess Elizabeth and the duke 
of Gloucester. The day following he walked from St. James's 
to Whitehall, and after spending some time in devotional ex- 
ercises, was beheaded on a scaffold erected for that purpose. 

Miscellaneous Facts. In 1633, the Book of Sports was again 
published, by which the people were encouraged, by roval proclama- 
tion, to devote a part of the Lord's Day to dancing, archery, May- 
poles, Whit sun -ales, &c. (Treat offence was taken at this attempt to 
revive the practice of Sunday sports, not only by the Puritans but by 
many churchmen ; indeed some clergymen refused to read the pro- 
clamation. In 1637, a proclamation issued to stop the emigration of 
Puritans to America, henceforth no one could quit the country — 
v/ithout a license from the privy council or the justices, without having 
first taken the oaths of allegiance and suprenmcv, and without the 
testimony of their parish minister a/ to cuuforuniy in ecclesiastical 



THE COMMON WEALTH, 145 

matters. It was during the civil war, that the parliament introduce 
into this country a new mode of revenue — the excise, whljh proved 
ao fruitful, that it was retained after the Restoration, and became d 
permanent institution. 

The student of this period of our history would have reached a 
wrong conclusion, did he suppose that the parliament men were 
models of what constitutional rulers ought to be. It is a fact which 
should not be lost sight of, that these very men, who brought the 
country into a civil war rather than submit to arbitrary rule, were 
most arbitrary themselves in the exercise of that power which they 
had snatched from the hands of others. In direct violation of the 
Petition of Right, they made numberless forced levies of horses and 
men; gave powers to their generals to press men into their service; 
passed a most tyrannical ordinance to repress disorders in printing ; 
and after imprisoning by mere arbitrary votes, any who ventured to 
present addresses that were distasteful, they passed a rigid law against 
tumultuous petitioning, the very means by which their own power had 
Veen established. From the very first, heavy weekly assessments were 
levied, and a little later an excise was set, which reached most of the 
necessaries of daily lite. 

Chkonicle. 1625, Barbadoes colonised, the first English settle- 
ment in the West Indies. Hackney coaches made their appearance in 
the streets of London. 1632, Settlement of Roman Catholics in Mary- 
land by Lord Baltimore. 1635, Establishment of a post-office for the 
conveyance of letters to Scotland, and a few of the principal towns in 
England. 1641, Pendulums applied to clocks. 1643, English build 
Fort St. George at Madras. Barometer invented by Torricelli, a Floren- 
tine. 1649, George Fox, the founder of the Quakers, begins to preach. 
Brass-making introduced into England. 

THE COMMONWEALTH. 1649-1660. 

Oliver Ceomwell (1599 — 1658) the son of Robert Cromwell, a 
member of Parliament in the reign of Elizabeth, was born at Hunting- 
don, and educated partly at the grammar school of his native town, 
and partly at Sydney College, Camb/idge. After studying the law for 
a time, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir James Bourchier, and 
retired to a grazing farm at St. Ives, where he became a leading man 
among the Puritans. In the third parliament of Charles I., Crom- 
wtll sat for Huntingdon, and in the parliaments of 1640, for Cam- 
bridge. Rude both in his appearance and speech, he nevertheless 
soon attained to fame by the energy of his character. In 1642, he 
became captain of a troop of horse raised in his own district. By his 
exertions he greatly improved the efficiency of the parliamentary 
forces, and by his skill rose to a generalship, and subsequently to 
possess greater influence than any other person in the kingdom. 
Reaching the height of his ambition, he found it more difficult to 
rule than to fight. Hence his home government proved as unsatis- 
factory to the nation, as his foreign policy proved the energy of his 
character, and the power of England. His last years were full of 
inquietude, and ended by an ague. His body, after resting in 
Westminster Abbey till 1661. was then disinterred to be hung on 
Tyburn gallows. 



146 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH I11STOK1 

Richard Csomwell (1626 — 1712) the second son of Oliver, was 
born at Huntingdon and for a time studied law at Lincoln'? Inc. 
A.8 soon as he married, he gave himself up entirely to rural pursuit* 
from which his father, when he became Protector, called him away tc 
sit in his parliaments, and to be first lord of trade and navigation. 
Though raised to the Protectorate, it soon became evident that he wad 
not the man, he therefore did wisely in retiring. After the Resto- 
ration, he resided abroad twenty years ; and on his return he fixed 
his residence at Cheshunt, where he spent the remainder of his life in 
sfict privacy. 

I. Republicanism established. 

No sooner was Charles dead than proclamation wao made de- 
claring it treason to give any one the title of king. In about a 
month the commons voted the house of lords useless and 
dangerous ; and that the office of king being unnecessary, burden- 
some, and dangerous, was therefore abolished. The supreme 
authority now rested in the representatives of the people, that is, 
in the Rump of about fifty members. The executive was entrusted 
to a Council of State of 38 persons, with Bradshaw for president 
and Milton the poet for foreign secretary. Its functions included 
the government at home ; the navy and army ; the superin- 
tendence of trade ; and the negotiation of treaties with foreign 
powers. To meet the expenses of the government, a revenue 
was raised from monthly assessments ; an excise on beer, spirits, 
&c. ; tonnage and poundage ; and from fines and compositions 
drawn from royalists and Catholics. The average annual revenue 
during the Commonwealth was more than double what it had 
been in the reign of Charles. Much discontent showed itself, 
but the power of the sword could not be resisted. 

II. Reduction of Ireland and Scotland. 1649—1651. 

Ireland, after the rebellion of 1641, wasfor sometime in perfect 
confusion, and the civil war in England prevented a sufficient 
force being sent over to re-establish a central government. 
Hence there were the Catholic confederation, the Protestant party, 
the king's party under Ormond, not to name any others, for at 
the death of Charles there were five armies in Ireland, acting 
independently of each other. In August, 1649, Cromwell lauded 
at Dublin with 12,000 men ; Ormond's defeat at Ratlunines had 
taken place a foitnight before. The general opened his cam- 
paign with the siege of Drogheda, which fell (Sept. 12), and the 
whole of the garrison, nearly 3,000, was put to the sword. The 
iike befell Wexford (Oct. 9), on which Cork and other places 
submitted. In 1650, Cromwell was in the field with 20,000 men, 
&iid obtained possession ri Kilkenny and Clonmel, he was nov* 



_ 



THE COMMONWEALTH. 147 

recalled, and left Ireton his son-in-law to complete the wort.. 
This was not done till after a ti t'teen months siege of Limerick* 
which capitulated (Sept. 1651), the garrison and inhabitants to 
have their lives and property. Ireton died, and the settlement of 
Ireland fell to Fleetwood and Henry Cromwell. 

Scotland, indignant at the execution of the king, proclaimed 
bis son as Charles II., on condition, however, that he should be- 
come a party to the League and Covenant. Disliking this con- 
dition, he sanctioned Montrose in an attempt to raise the Scotch 
royalists ; the attempt failed, the leader was hung, and Charles 
agreed to sign the covenants. The English government having 
decided on war, Cromwell crossed the Tweed with 16,000 men. 
Advancing through a deserted country, he found the Scotch army, 
under the younger Leslie, entrenched in the neighbourhood of 
the capital. From their fortified position the Scots could not oe 
enticed, till sickness in the English army had made Cromwell 
withdraw to Dunbar. The Scots followed, and enclosing the 
English, rendered their position perilous in the extreme ; Leslie 
would have waited his opportunity, but the clergy insisted that 
the time was come. And so it was, for in the battle of Dunbar 
(Sept.3, 1650), the Scots lost 3,000 in slain and 10,000 in prisoners, 
besides their military stores, and the country south of the Forth. 
In 1651 Charles was crowned at Scone, and Cromwell crossed 
the Forth to attack his army ; this movement left the south clear, 
and the young king marched at once into England, hoping to 
rally round him a large body of Royalists, but in this he ex 
perienced disappointment. At Worcester he was brought to 3 
stand, and his army completely routed by Cromwell (Sept. 3) ; 
3,000 royalists fell in this battle, and of the prisoners many 
hundreds were disposed of for slaves in the colonies. Charles 
escaped, and after wandering about in disguise for six weeks, 
embarked at Shoreham for France. Monk completed the reduction 
of Scotland, after which no authority was permitted to exist but 
that derived from the English parliament. In 1654 Cromwell 
incorporated the two countries. 

III. First Dutch war. 1652—1654, 

William the stadtholderhad married the daughter of Charles L, 
"ind was moreover of somewhat despotic tendency ; he therefore 
disliked the proceedings of the English parliament, and when its 
envoy, Dr. Dorislaus, was assassinated, the Dutch allowed the 
murderers to escape. William died in 1650, but the new authority 
in Holland proved to be equally averse to any alliance with the 
English, and treated St. John and Strickland, the ambassadors, 
with much contempt. Besides, the Dutch locked v» T ith great 



14# 0UTLINE8 OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

jealousy on the increase of the English commerce, and as we wen 
jealous of them and passed a Navigation Act to their injury, it 
was natural that a war should follow. 

Hostilities commenced by an English commodore firing on a 
Dutch vessel in the Downs, for not saluting the English flag. 
Soon after, Blake fought the Dutch off Dover (May 19), and 
took two ships. Admirals Blake and Penn again defeated them 
in the Downs (Sept. 28), but as a set-off, Van Tromp with a fleet 
of 90 sail came upon Blake who had only 37, and beat him neaT 
the Goodwin Sands (Nov. 28). This victory intoxicated the 
Dutch, and Van Tromp cruised in the English Channel with a 
oroom at his mast-head, to signify that he would sweep the 
English from their own seas. In 1653, Blake engaged the enemy 
off Portland (Feb. 18) ; a running fight followed for three days, 
aLvi the Dutch lost 40 vessels. Off the North Foreland (June 2), 
a battle for two days ended in Tromp's losing 21 sail and 1,300 
prisoners. The next battle began off the Texel (July 29), and 
lasted three days ; the enemy lost 20 ships and 6,000 men. This 
ended the war, for the Dutch had lost 1,200 ships, and spent more 
money than in their twenty years' war with Spain. 

The war concluded by the Treaty of Westminster (April 5, 
1654), by which the Dutch promised to give no countenance to 
English royalists, to pay the usual honours to the flag of the 
Commonwealth, and to pay certain demands made on them by 
English merchants. 

IV. Protectorate of Oliver and Richard Cromwell, 
1653-1659. 

The republicans had not made themselves many friends, but 
rather the reverse, on account of the strong liking the leaders 
showed for the emoluments of office. Being moreover afraid of 
the army, the house proposed its reduction, which Cromwell and 
his party were determined to resist, on the ground that there was 
no other guarantee for public liberty. The Rump showing some 
spirit in the matter, Cromwell took a company of musketeers tr 
the house, and after censuring the members for their selfish 
Hess, turned them out and locked the door. 

To quiet the country, a new parliament was called of men 
"faithful, fearing God, and hatingcovetou8nes8; ,, from one of it* 
members this assembly obtained the name of The Barebone.s Par- 
liament. Thesemenwerenotignorantbutfanatical, and proposed 
so many striking changes, that all classes of the community were 
roused. Oneof Cromwell's friends proposed, as their proceedings 
were unsatisfactory, they should resign their power. They did 
so, and a council of officers constituted Cruni well Lord Protector 



THE COMMONWEALTH. 149 

bf the Commonwealth., on condition that he should rule according 
to the Instrument of Government* which provided — that there 
should be a parliament every three years, to sit not less than five 
months, that 400 members should be returned for England, and 
30 each for Scotland and Ireland ; that the executive be in 
the Protector and a council ; that laws be made and taxes im» 
posed only by parliament ; that there be an army of 30,000 men ; 
and that all religionists be protected except prelatists, papists, 
and those who taught licentiousness. The Protector called a 
parliament in 1654, but it proved refractory, and was therefore 
dismissed at the end of five months ; a second was called in the 
next year, which proposed some changes in the government. 
According to the new scheme contained in The Bumble Petition 
and Advice, the Protector had thepowertonominate a successor; 
a house of peers was to be constituted, the first nomination to be 
in the Protector ; and before it was amended, the Petition sug- 
gested that Cromwell should assume a higher title. This he was 
ready to do, but so many of his supporters objected, that he 
contented himself with a solemn inauguration in Westminster 
Hall, under hisformerdesignation. The two houses met in 1658, 
and a quarrel growing up about the power of the upper house, 
Cromwell found it necessary to dissolve them. 

Meanwhile the Protector governed the country as best he could, 
but there were so many parties, so much dissatisfaction, and so 
many conspiracies against the government, that it could be carried 
on only by considerable severity. Men were imprisoned contrary 
to law, and many sold for slaves in the plantations. In 1655 the 
country was actually divided into districts, each commanded by a 
major-general with almost unlimited power. In his foreign re- 
lations Cromwell was more fortunate. The Dutch were humbled, 
and Louis of France sought his alliance against Spain. The 
veterans who served with the French brought victory to the 
alliance, and according to the conditions, Dunkirk after its cap- 
ture was handed over to the English. In the Mediterranean, the 
pirates were taught to respect the English flag, and the duke of 
Savoy induced to put a stop to the persecution of the Protestant 
Vaudois. War was declared against Spain in 1655, and Jamaica 
captured by Penn and Venables ; in the next year the heroic 
Blake destroyed the fleet of treasure-ships at Santa Cruz. 

Richard Cromwell succeeded his father (Sept. 3, 1658), and 
was immediately attacked by his own relatives, who despised him 
because he was not a soldier. A parliament was called in the 
hope that it would curb the spirit of the army, but it proved 
refractory, and the insurgent officers compelled Richard to dis- 
solve it The Cabal of Wallingford House possessed now tha 



160 OUTLINES 0* ENGLISH HISTOR/. 

mipreme power, and Richard formally resigned his office (Ma? 
25, 16o9). 

V. Anarchy and Restoration, 1659—1660. 

Before Richard had actually resigned, Fleetwood, his brother- 
in-law and the head of the Cubal, having come to an agreement 
9/ith the republican party, recalled the Rump parliament (May 7). 
The army proposed to itself to rule through the parliament, but 
the house would not submit, and therefore lost the support of the 
military. Encouraged by these dissensions, the royalists at- 
tempted a rising ; Sir George Booth surprised Chester, but the 
insurgents were soon defeated by general Lambert at Nantwich 
(Aug. 19). The parliament continuing unmanageable, Lambert 
cleared the house (Oct. 13). Much discontent followed, and 
Monk, commander of the forces in Scotland, after sounding his 
officers, resolved to march to London. Admiral Lawron, the 
commander of thefieet, sailed up theThames and declared agkinst 
the Cabal. Under these circumstances, the Rump again met 
(Dec. 26), and received the support of Monk when he reached 
London. The capital too declared for a full and free parliament ; 
Monk therefore joined his fortune with that of the citizens, and 
under all these influences, the secluded members of the long 
parliament again took their seats (Feb. 21, 1660). Every one 
seemed mad with joy, for a fear had grown up that a new civil 
war would break out between Cromwell's rival generals. The 
parliament acted with vigour, and Monkwas'madecommander-in- 
chief. All this while, no one could guess the part Monk pro- 
posed to play, perhaps he had not determined himself. The long 
parliament now dissolved itself after an existence of more than 
nineteen years. Before another met, Monk began to throw rff 
the mask ; negotiations were opened with Charles, and measures 
taken to secure his return. 

The Convention Parliament met (April 25), and shortly after, 
Grenville presentedhimself with aconciliatory letter from Charles, 
enclosing a paper known as the Declaration of Breda, by which 
Charles promised — to grant a free and general pardon to all per- 
sons who should submit within forty days, excepting such as the 
parliament should except ; to allow liberty to tender consciences 
for difference of opinion in matters of religion, which do not dis. 
turb the peace of the kingdom ; to leave the settlement of dis- 
puted estates to be determined by parliament ; and to pay all 
officers and men of Monk's forces their arrears, and receive them 
into the royal service. Theseconditions being favourably received, 
the Convention voted that the exiled king be invited to come and 
rcteive the crown. Charles lo6t xio time, and embarking in the 



GHAJXIS3 n. l6l 

ghips sent for him, landed at Dover (May 25), and entered 
London (May 29) amidst universal rejoicings. 

Miscellaneous Facts. One of the laws of the Barebone's parlia- 
ment made marriage a civil contract, to be solemnized by the justices of 
the peace, the parties having first had their banns published three tmw 
at church, or in the market-place. This act was ratified in 1656, but 
the parties were then permitted to adopt the accustomed rites of religion, 
if they preferred them. In 1655 the Jews petitioned for readmission inWi 
England; the subject was several times before the council, but though 
Cromwell was favourable to it, he could not carry the council with him. 
It appears, however, that numbers of that nation came over, and that in 
1657 tney had a burying- ground of their own. The commonwealth-men, 
though they had complained so muJi of a want of religious tolerance, 
were not very tolerant themselves. One of their own party, a Jamea 
Naylor, an army officer, for holding certain religious fancies, was 
whipped, pilloried, branded, his tongue bored ihrou^h with a red-hot iron, 
and then committed to perpetual imprisonment. And this barbarous 
punishment, equalling those of the Star Chamber, was not ordered by 9 
council board, but by the house of parliament, after days of mature 
deliberation. 

Chbojsticle. 1652, A coffee-house opened in St. Michael's Alley, 
Cornhill, by the servant of a Turkey merchant ; they became common 
in a few years. 1654. Invention of the air-pump by Otto de Guericke; 
improved in 1657 by Robert Boyle. 1658, Watches first made in ling- 
land. 

CHARLES II. 1660-1685. 

Rotax Family. Charles II. (1630—1685), son of Charles I., was 
born at St. James's Palace, and shortly after his birth declared prince 
of Wales. When the civil war broke out, he appears as captain of a 
troop of horse; two years later, he was appointed general of the western 
counties. In 1646 he joined his mother at Paris ; withdrawing shortly 
after to the Hague, he resided there till the murder of Dr. Dorislaus. 
After staying a while at Paris and Jersey, he retired to Breda, where he 
accepted the conditions offered by the Scots and became their king. 
The battle of Worcester made him again a refugee, residing sometimes 
at Paris, at others at Bruges or Brussels, but wherever it was, his court 
was a constant scene of drunkenness and debauchery. Returning to 
England in 1660, he was heartily received, but men eventually grew 
tired of a king who thought more of his pleasures than his duties. 
'Too indolent to attend to the affairs of his people, he sacrificed every- 
thing to his vicious indulgences, and stooped *o the greatest humiliations 
and practised the most scandalous dishonest} to procure means for riot 

and extravagance and while he pretended to join in the fears of 

his subjects as to the designs of the Romanists, and agreed to severe laws 
to restrain them, was himself a member of their community, and actively 
engaged in schemes to subvert the constitution loth in Church and 
State." 

The consort of Charles, Catherine (1638—1705), was the daughter of 
John, iuke of Broganza, and who subsequently became king of Por- 
tugal. Educated in s convent, she had led a life of seclusion up to the 



152 0CTUNE8 OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

time of her marriage. Charles inclined to the match, on account cf the 
dowry of £500.000, together with the settlements of Tangier and Bom- 
bay, and a free trade for the English to India and the Brazils. 
Catherine landed at Portsmouth and was married in 1662. Her life aa 
the wife of Charles was most miserable, she wap not only neglected for 
others, but had forced on her the king's mistresses as part of her household. 
And being a Catholic, she was subject to further trials, for during the 
heats of the popish plots, an accusation was laid against the queen 
herself, and some of her servants executed. After the death of Charles 
she resided at Somerset House till 1692; returning then to Portugal, 
she became for a time the regent. It is to the praise of Catherine that 
■he bore the indignities heaped upon her with much patience, and 
maintained an unblemished fame in one of the most corrupt courts of 
Europe. 

By his wife Charles left no children, but many by his mistresses — 
such were the dukes of Monmouth, Grafton, St. Albans, and Richmond, 
all of them ancestors of existing noble houses. Besides those named 
there were several others. 

I. Settlement of the nation. 

At the Restoration much required to be done to bring order 
out of the confusion into which nearly every part of the consti- 
tution had been thrown during twenty years of disorder. To 
prevent future disputes in the matter of revenue, this question 
received immediate attention. The public revenue was set at 
£1,200,000, and instead of the old feudal revenues derived from 
tenure by knight service, the excise was made a permanent tax. 
From this time the clergy no longer taxed themselves in convo- 
cation, but were included among the laity so far as taxation was 
concerned ; this arrangement tended to lessen the influence and 
authority of the Convocation as a separate estate of the realm. 
It was found more difficult to settle the question of the landed 
property which had changed hands during the late troubles. 
Charles had promised that just satisfaction should be given by 
the parliament, but that assembly was thwarted and concluded 
nothing, so that the parties were left to the common course of 
law. Ultimately, the crown, the church, and the dispossessed 
royalists reclaimed their property, and the holders were ousted, 
not being able to show a satisfactory title. The royalists, who 
had pold a part or the whole of their estates, were obliged to take 
the results of their own act. Before the parliament separated, 
it agreed to the punishment of the regicides. Twenty-nine were 
tried and condemned, though only ten suffered the extreme 
penalty. By order of the houses, the dead bodies of Cromwell, 
Bradshaw, and lieton were disinterred and hung at Tyburn. 
The Convention parliament was dissolved Dec. 29. 

The second long parliament met (May 8, 1661), and was found 
to consist nearly altogether af royalists. Its first business wrs 



CHARLES n. 153 

the settlement of the church question, this was done by a series 
cf acts, which were deemed necessary to put the Establishment 
on a proper footing, and curb the party in opposition to it. 
First came the Corporation Act (1661), designed to break the 
power of all classes of dissenters in the cities and boroughs. 
It provided— that no person could be a member of a corporation, 
anless within twelve months he had taken the sacrament accord- 
ing to the rites of the Church of England ; and abjured the 
league and covenant, and the lawfulness of taking up arms against 
the king; and shall take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy 
For the purpose of making the Liturgy more acceptable to dis- 
sentients, a conference of churchmen and puritans was held at 
the Savoy palace (1661), but the time was consumed in fruitless 
discussions, and it was left for the Convocation to make some 
alterations. This being done, the new parliament passed the A ct 
of Uniformity (1662), which required — that henceforth all minis- 
ters should use the amended Book of Common Prayer, and that 
all persons enjoying any ecclesiastical benefice should publicly 
declare their assent to the same, and their approval of everything 
contained in it, by reading before their congregations a certain 
formula to that effect, on some Lord's day before the feast of 
St. Bartholomew (Aug. 24) next, on pain, of deprivation ; it 
further required of all ministers of the church episcopal ordi- 
nation, the oath of canonical obedience, the abjuration of the 
league and covenant and the lawfulness of arming against the 
king. About 2,000 incumbents resigned their livings rather than 
comply ; they were subsequently known as Nonconformists. 

The nonconforming ministers opening separate places of wor- 
ship gave occasion to the Conventicle Act (1664), rendered neces- 
sary, as was said, by persons under pretence of tender consciences 
meeting to foment insurrections. The act provided— that all 
persons above sixteen years of age present at such meetings, 
where five individuals besides the family should be assembled, 
should for the first offence be fined £5 or be imprisoned ; for the 
second £10 or imprisonment ; and for the third, £100 or trans- 
portation for seven years. A second Conventicle Act, in 1670 
reduced the penalty on hearers, but inflicted a fine on preachers! 
and those who lent their houses for such purposes. 

During the plague some of the nonconforming ministers filled 
the vacant pulpits in London, and as they were said to have em- 
ployed the opportunity to disseminate sedition, there was passed 
^Five-Mile 4c* (1665). This act forbade nonconforming mini* 
ters coming within five miles of any town sending members to 
parliament, or of any village in which they had ever ministered 
under penalty of £40, and six months' im prisonment in addition, 

1 



154 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HI8TORT. 

if they refused to take the oath of non-resistance. It also forbade 
their keeping a school. 

In Scotland an obsequious parliament annulled all the pro- 
ceedings of the parliaments which had sat during the preceding 
twenty-eight years. Episcopacy was restored, Argyle and others 
executed, and Sharpe, the agent of the Scotch kirk, made arch- 
bishop of St. Andrew's. A foundation was thus laid for the 
disturbed state of Scotland for many years to come. 

In Ireland, episcopacy was restored, and the church lands 
reclaimed. An attempt made to settle the landed property proved 
the more difficult, by reason of the immense grants made to the 
duke of York and others. Ultimately, the possessors agreed to 
relinquish one-third, still the majority never regained theic 
rights. 

II. Second Dutch war. 1664—1667. 

The principal causes which brought on this war — were the in- 
terference of the Dutch with the gains of the African Company, 
of which the duke of York was the governor; the non-fulfilment 
of the treaty of 1654 ; the dislike that Charles had to the repub- 
licans of Holland ; and as is said, that, the king might have the 
opportunity of filching a portion of the money granted to carry 
on the war. 

Hostilities commenced on the coast of Africa, where Sir Robert 
Holmes captured Goree and other Dutch stations ; then sailing 
to America he reduced the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam 
(1664), changing its name to that of New York. De Ruyter, in 
retaliation, sailed to the West Indies and took twenty sail of 
English ; the English fleets meanwhile 6wept the Channel, and 
brought in 130 Dutch traders. 

In 1665, the English with ninety-eight sail under the duke of 
York, blockaded the Dutch coasts for a month. Being driven 
off by a storm, Opdam came out with 113 ships, and a battle wa6 
fought in Solebay, off Lowestoffe (June 3), in whicb Opdam 
perished, and the enemy lost 18 ships and 7,000 men. This 
great victory was obtained just when the plague had begun to 
put forth its strength. 

In 1666 the Dutch secured the aid of France, though it proved 
of no great service to them. In consequence of a false report, 
the English fleet was divided, Rupert taking a part to meet the 
French, who were said to be coming up tne channel, whilst 
Sionk, now earl of Albemarle, sailed out of the Downs with the 
remainder. To his surprise, he found De Ruyter and De Witt 
with eighty sail at the back of the Goodwin Sands (June I). 
The battle raged for four days, and Monk's division would have 



CHARLES II. 155 

3een annihilated, but for the timely arrival of Rupert ; both 
Darties drew off under cover of a mist, the English having lost 10 
3hips and 1,700 men, the Dutch 1,800 men. Both fleets met 
again off the North Foreland (July 25), the English were victors, 
the Dutch losing 20 ships and 4,000 men. An attack was now 
made on the Dutch coasts, and 150 ships burnt at Schelling. 
The lost to the Dutch was a million sterling ; within a month, 
the English lost seven times that amount by the Fire of London. 

In 1667 the English nation was disgraced, and the Dutch 
revenged for the insult at Schelling. Money was scarce, so the 
large ships were laid up in the hope of a speedy peace. Negoti- 
ations were opened at Breda (May 14), though the Dutch would 
not agree to an armistice. All the while, preparations were mak- 
ing to insult the English coasts, and when ready De Ruyter sailed 
for the Nore. Dividing his fleet he entered the Medway with a 
part, and having destroyed the fort at Sheerness, advanced to 
Chatham, where he burnt several ships of war, and a valuable 
magazine of stores (June 12). The other division entered the 
Thames, but were compelled to retire before they had reached 
Gravesend. 

The second Dutch war ended by the Treaty of Breda (July 21), 
by which the English and Dutch agreed to remain in their present 
condition, each retaining what it possessed. The treaty with 
France gave up Nova Scotia to thatcountry on receiving Antigua, 
Montserrat, and St. Kitts. The treaty with Denmark, which had 
become a party to the quarrel, simply restored friendly relations. 

III. The plague and fire. 1665—1666. 

The great plague did not excite public alarm till the month of 
April, when its ravages in St. Giles's induced the council to direct 
measures to be taken. It soon spread, and a continuous stream 
of population flowed out of London to the neighbouring districts. 
When in its full tide, every house containing the plague was 
marked with a red cross, a foot long, on the door, and no person 
allowed egress for a month. The dead were gathered in carts, 
and shot into plague pits. Up to September the deaths increarsed, 
they then reached upwards of a thousand a day. Coal fires 
lighted in the streets, and the strong winds that set in, cooled 
and purified the sir, and from this time the deaths decreased. 
After London wasclear,it raged in different parts of the country. 
In the metropolis there perished more than 100,000 persons. 

On the 2nd of September in the following year a fire broke 
out at a baker's shop in Pudding-lane, where the Monument now 
-stands ; and as the houses were then built mostly of wood, with 
pitched roof s, and narrow thoroughfares, the fire spread rapidly. 



156 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY, 

Unfortunately, there raged a strong east wind, and as no water 
could be obtained, the fire had the mastery for three days and 
was subdued only when the wind abated, and many gaps had been 
made in the re-mainingbuildings, with gunpowder. Two-thirds of 
London were left in ruins, covering a surface of 436 acres, and 
200,000 persons compelled to lie out in the fields. The fire de- 
stroyed St. Paul's Cathedral, 88 churches, the Royal Exchange, 
and many other public buildings, together with 13.200 dwelling- 
houses. By an act passed, no timber building could be again 
erected, the overhanging storeys therefore disappeared ■ this and 
the increased width of the streets so improved the healthiness 
of London that the plague never returned. At first this calamity 
was ascribed to the Catholics, and so it was stated on the Monu- 
ment, but there appearing no foundation for the charge, the 
inscription has been removed. 

IV. Triple alliance and treaty of Dover. 1668—1670 

So great was the public indignation at the insult offered to tho 
nation in the Med way, that Charles, perhaps not unwillingly, 
allowed Hyde, earl of Clarendon, to be sacrificed. Clarendon 
during his administration pleased no party, and without being a 
bad minister, was unfitted for the peculiar character of the times. 
A new ministry was now formed, known as the Cabal, because 
the initials of the principal members formed that word — Clifford, 
Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale. These men by 
theirtrucklingpolicy, and adesign to render thekingindependent 
of parliament, earned for themselves perpetual infamy. The first 
measure of this ministry seemed, however, to augur well. In 
1668 they concluded the Triple Alliance,, so called from the union 
of England, Holland, and Sweden, with the purpose of checking 
the con quests of France in Flanders, which bid fair to ewallow 
dp that country. Louis pretended a right to Flanders, in be- 
half of his wife Maria Theresa, a daughter of Spain, but was 
willing to exchange his conquests for Luxemburg, or Franche- 
oomte, which Spain would not submit to. Much as the Dutch dis- 
liked the proceedings of the French, it required all the tact of 
Sir William Temple to persuade them to enter into alliance with 
Charles, their personal enemy. Louis now gave way, and by the 
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668) obtained Lille, Tournay, and 
otner places in the Spanish Netherlands. 

T he vast expenditure during the Dutch war, together with iha 
trinsr's extravagance, led to a bill appointing commissioners of 
publfo accounts. This irave offence to the king, and Buckingham 
undertook to negotiate terms on which Louis would grant t'nr 
English monarch pecuniary assistance. Henrietta, duchess oi 



CHARLES U. 157 

Orleans, met her brother, the king, at Dover (1670), and a treaty 
was concluded, which bound Charles, at a convenient time, pub- 
licly to profess himself a Catholic, and then to join in a war 
against Holland ; Louis on his part engaging to pay a certian 
sum of money, and aid Charles with an armed force in case of 
an insurrection in England. Of the conquests to be made in 
Holland, England was to receive as her share, Walcheren, Sluys, 
and Cadsand. 

V. Third Dutch war. 1672-1674. 

For this war, Charles assigned the following reasons . — the un- 
willingness of the Dutch to regulate the trade of the two nations 
in India ; the detention of English traders in Surinam ; their re- 
fusal to honour the English flag ; and their insults to him per- 
sonally by medals and defamatory publications. The real cause 
is to be found in the treaty of Dover. 

Before hostilities commenced, two events occurred requiring 
notice. The king suspended, for twelve months, the payment of 
the moneys advanced to the government, on the security of the 
public revenue. This put into his hands £1,300,000, but it ruined 
many bankers, and shook the commercial credit of the nation. 
The second event was equally disgraceful. An attempt was made 
to seize the Levant fleet in its passage up the Channel ; the Dutch, 
however, had their suspicions, and beat off admiral Holmes. War 
being now declared, a battle was fought in Southwold Bay (May 
28) ; the English suffered severely, but when a reinforcement 
came in, De Ruyter withdrew. In Holland, a French army of 
100,000 men advanced to the vicinity of Amsterdam, but the 
courage of the Dutch rose with their danger, the dykes were cut, 
the young prince of Orange elected stadtholder, and the two 
De Witts barbarously murdered in the excitement of a revolution. 

In 1673, the English parliament, jealous of the alliance with 
Catholic France, and having some suspicions of a confederacy 
against Protestants, passed the Test Act, which drove the duke of 
York and Lord Clifford from office, and otherwise made it appear 
that the existing war had their disapprobation. In this year, 
Rupert put to sea with 90 sail, and three actions were fought off 
the Dutch coasts, but nothing was done of much moment. 

The third Dutch war ended by the Treaty of Westminster 
(1674), by which the Dutch consented k) honour the English flag 
Detween Cape Finisterre and Van Staten ; to allow the English 
settlers in Surinam to sell their effects and retire ; to refer the 
disputes of the traders to ladia to arbitration ; and to pay Charles 
£200,000 in lieu of all claims, excepting those relating to India. 



158 OUTLINES OJf ENGLISH HISTORX. 

On the Continent the war went on till 1678, when it was con 
duded by the peace of Nimeguen, Louis obtaining Frauche- 
comte* and sixteen fortresses in the Spanish Netherlands. 

VI. Popish plots. 1678. 

A jealonsy of Romanism was nothing new at this time, for 
from the reign of James there had been a continual outcry against 
il, and endeavours by the legislature to put its professors under 
further restrictions. So prevalent was this feeling that the Fire 
of London was ascribed to them, and the last peace was brought 
about mainly from the general feeling of the country being against 
an alliance with Louis, a catholic prince. Indeed, during the war, 
the anti-popery party passed the Test Act, by which several public 
officers were compelled to retire. The feeling was increased jus* 
now, on account of some rumours as to the real character of the 
treaty of Dover, and the fact that the duke of York had publicly 
avowed his conversion to popery. It was therefore no difficult 
task to persuade the people of the existence of a plot to establish 
Romanism in this country. A man of infamous character, Titus 
Oates, undertook this work, and, by his lies, influenced the nation 
till it was blinded with passion. Dr. Tonge, a clergyman, co- 
operated with Oates, and Bedloe and others followed in a track 
which brought notoriety and good pay. Some circumstances 
seemed at first to corroborate the depositions of the plot-makers. 
A paper was discovered which spoke of subduing the pestilential 
neresy of the three kingdoms, and Sir E. Godfrey, the magistrate 
who took Oates' depositions, was shortly afterwards found mur- 
dered. So great did the panic become, and so confident was 
Oates of public support, that he actually appeared at the bar of 
the Commons to impeach Catherine, queen of England. Many 
innocent persons met their death on the scaffold, for being parties 
to these imaginary plots ; among the number was the venerable 
viscount St&ttbrd. 

During the heats of this period were passed the Papists' Dis- 
abling Bill (1678), so called because it disabled papists from 
sitting in parliament ; and the celebrated Habeas Corpus Act 
(1679) which provided that a prisoner, except committed foi 
treason or felony, might be removed by a writ of Habeas Corpus, 
and his case heard by one of the judges: That keepers not 
making due returns, not delivering a copy of the warrant of 
committal, or shifting the custody of aprisoner without authority, 
should be fined £100 : That no person delivered by Habeas 
Corpus be recommitted for the same offence : That persons com- 
mitted for treason or felony, if not indicted in the second term 



CHARLES II. 153 

be discharged : That writs of Habeas Corpus shall itru into 
the Channel Islands, and all privileged places : and That nc 
inhabitant of England be imprisoned beyond sea. 

During the same period, the two great political parties obtained 
the names of Addressers and Abhorrers, on account of one 
addressing the crown in favour of a parliament to prevent the 
ascendency of popery, while the other prof essed its abhorrence 
of the petitioners. These names were soon changed for Whig 
and Tory ; the former derived from the Scotch Presbyterians, 
the latter from the popish outlaws in Ireland. 

VII. Political plots. 1683. 

Ashley, now earl of Shaftesbury, had been conspicuous in the 
matter of the Popish plots, and in an endeavour to pass a Bill of 
Exclusion, to prevent the duke of York coming to the throne. 
Charles deprived him of his office, and commenced a course of 
arbitrary rule ; Shaftesbury was even indicted for suborning per- 
sons to give false testimony against the queen, the duke of York, 
and others. The king, moreover, feeling that the tide had turned, 
attacked the charters of corporate towns, and placed in the new 
corporations men friendly to the court. This provoked schemes 
for restoring the liberties of the people. Shaftesbury, after 
plotting with Rumbold, Walcot, and other men of desperate for- 
tunes, retired to Holland and died. His tools, however, proposed to 
themselves to assassinate the king as he passed RumbokTs farm, 
called the Rye House. Another party, composed of Whig leaders 
— Monmouth, Essex, Grey , Russell, Sydney, and Hampden — was 
also engaged in a scheme for a simultaneous rising in London, 
the Whig counties, and Scotland, in order to force a change in 
the government. The plots became in a measure connected, and 
'though the Whig leaders rejected the idea of assassination, they 
were held to be privy to it. When the conspiracy was discovered, 
Monmouth and others fl^d, but Russell, Sydney, Howard, and 
Essex were taken. The two former were executed, Howard 
t urned approver, and Essex committed suicide. From this time 
to the end of the reign Charles ruled absolutely. 

Miscellaneous Facts. The establishment of episcopacy m 
Scotland led to many disturbances and much persecution. The 
Covenanters, as the Presbyterians were called, withdrew from their 
parish churches, and took to open air meetings. In 1666, a body of 
1,100 marched on Edinburgh, and were defeated at the Pentland 
Hills; many were executed, and many put to the torture of the 
thumbikins or the boot. In 1679, fercbbishop Sharpe, who had de- 
gerted his party, was foully murdered, upon which the government 
declared attendance on field conventicles treason ; this brought out 
iLie Ovenfanters in force, but they met with defeat at Botfandi-bridg*. 



160 OJTLINES OF ENGLISH HJ8TA31 

The duke of York became now the regent of Scotland, and employs^ 
the notorious Graham of Claverhouse to dragoon those who refused 
to renounce the Covenant; this he is accused of doing with cold- 
blooded and 6avage barbarity. 

In consequence of the growing conviction of a tendency to Popery 
lit court, there was passed in 1673 the Test Act, which enacted — thiii 
aLl persons, holding civil or military offices, should take the oaths of 
allegiance and supremacy; receive the sacrament according to the 
rites of the Church of England; and subscribe a declaration against 
the doctrine of transubstantiation. 

Chronicle. 1G60, Commencement of a standing army in England. 
1662, Royal Society incorporated by charter. 1063, Guineas first 
eoined in England ; so called from bein^ made of gold brought from 
Guinea by the African Company. Toll-gates set up. 1668, Bombay 
granted to the East India Company. 1669, Tea comes into moderate 
use. Flying coaches started, to do fifty miles a day. 1673, Plate glass 
first cast in England by Venetians ; some say in the time of Charles I. 
1676, Royal Observatory founded at Greenwich. 1681, A penny post 
established in London. 1682, Chelsea Hospital founded for old 
soldiers, 

JAMES II. 1685-1689. 

Royal Family. James II. (1633—1701), the son of Charles I., 
was born at St James's Palace, and immediately declared duke of 
York. In 1646 the surrender of Oxford placed him in the hands of 
fche parliament ; two years later he escaped in female attire from his 
keepers, and reached Middleburg in safety. Residing till 1653 at 
Paris, he then received a command in the French army, but when 
Cromwell made a treaty with Louis, the duke entered the Spanish 
service. At the Restoration, his brother made him lord high admira!, 
and in tb«* same year he married Anne, daughter of Clarendon. On 
his escape from Rochester, Louis received him with favour, and down 
to the peace of Ryswick, afforded him aid in the various attempts 
made to recover his dominions. In 1701, he died of apoplexy at St-. 
Ger mains, where he held his court. James, in many respects, was a 
better man than his brother, yet he was a bad king : like Charles, ho 
attempted to subvert the constitution of this country, and like all hi3 
race, he had no sympathy with popular institutions. Even Huma 
9ays " the people were justifiable in their resistance of him." 

The first wife of James was Anne Hyde (1638 — 1671), daughter of 
Clarendon. The marriage was privately contracted &t Breda in 1659, 
and it is to the credit of James, that in the face of much opposition, 
ho publicly avowed it after the fortunes of his family had brightened. 
Towards the end of her short life Anne embraced the Catholic faith 
" She was a kind and generous friend, but a severe enemy.' ; 

The queen consort of James was Mary Beatrice (1658 — 1718), 
daughter of Alphonso, duke of Modena. Landing at Dover, she war 
there married (1673), and began almost immediately to enter upon a 
course of misfortunes. Her childi^n died, a»d her husband, hated 
by the nation, was forced to quit the country. When he became king, 
he soon goaded the people into rebellion. Both James and his con« 
b< rt were charged with an attempt to impose on the natiou a eupp"- 



JAKES II. iSl 

aititious son. After the revolution the troubles of Mary truck in- 
creased, and more so from the time of her husband's death, for she 
frees afflicted and often short of money, besides the annoyance sha 
endured from the perpetual quarrels of the Jacobites. After thirty 
years of exile, during which she exhibited unusual patience, death 
ended a life of uncommon misfortunes. 

The children of James by Anne Hyde were : — Mary and Anne, 
T7ho both became queens of England Bv his second wife, Mary 
C'Este :— James Francis Edward (1688—1765), called the Old Pre- 
tender. By his mistresses: — James Eitzjames, duke of Berwick, and 
jthers. 

I. Insurrections of Argyll and Monmouth. 1685. 

James at the commencement of his reign, received a more 
cordial welcome from thepeoplethan might have been anticipated, 
principally on account of his speech to the council, and the 
opinion entertained of his truthfulness. To the council he said. 
" I shall make it my endeavour to preserve the government, both 
in church and state, as it is now by law established." But almost 
immediately, suspicions were awakened by the king's attending 
mass : n state, and expecting the officers of his court to enter the 
chapei with him. During the late reign numbers of persons, 
both from England and Scotland, had fled to the continent for 
safety. Now that James, a catholic, had become king, the 
refugees persuaded themselves of success, in an attempt to over- 
throw the government. Two expeditions were therefore fitted 
out in Holland, one to be headed by the earl of Argyle, the other 
by the duke of Monmouth. Argyle landed in Scotland in May. 
Few persons joined him, and, falling into the hands of the royal 
troops, he was conveyed to Edinburgh and executed (June 30). 

Monmouth landed (June 11) with a few followers at Lyme in 
Dorset, where a proclamation was read to the effect that he ap- 
peared in arms, "for the defence and vindication of theprotestant 
religion, and the laws, rights, and privileges of England." About 
3000 of the common people having joined him, he marched to 
Taunton, and there received from the nonconformists a stand of 
colours and a Bible. Thence he advanced to Keynsham with the 
hope of securing Bristol, but the royal forces beginning to gathei 
around him, he retreated and met with a complete defeat at 
Sedgemoor (July 6), a thousand of the rebels being left dead on 
the field. Before the battle ended, Monmouth was in full flight 
for the Mendip Hills, he then turned off towards the New Forest, 
and was captured lying in a ditch (July 8). On the 15th he was 
beheaded on Tower Hill, having been attainted soon after his 
{an ding. 

So easily were both these movements crushed, that James a 
oosition would have been strengthened thereby, but fc^r the 



162 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORf. 

cruelties that followed. Colonel Kirk put a hundred tc death by 
martial law, then followed the infamous judge Jeffreys, at the 
head of a commission. In the principal towns of the tainteo 
district, upwards of 300 persons were put to death, and nearly & 
thousand were disposed of, as slaves for the Plantations. To 
Btrike terror into the people, the heads and limbs of those 
executed were affixed in public places, even in the streets and 
on church doors. 

II. Attempt to re-establish Romanism. 

No sooner had these insurrections been put down than James 
threw off the mask, and proposed to remove those parts of the 
constitution which stood in the way of his design. The Habeas 
Corpus Act took from the government the power of arbitrary 
imprisonment, the want of a standing army prevented the king 
from coercing his subjects, and the Test Act kept out of the army 
catholic officers, upon whom he could most depend. These points 
must therefore undergo alteration, and because the parliament 
made objections, it was dismissed in anger. It was perhaps 
fortunate for England that just at this time, large numbers of 
French protestants took refuge in this country, and by their tales 
of suffering awakened the English people to the intolerant spirit 
of catholic princes. James fanned the flame by granting dis- 
pensations to some of the clergy to absent themselves from their 
clerical duties ; by forbidding the clergy to preach against 
Romanism ; by erecting an ecclesiastical court, similar to what 
had been abolished in 1641 ; by encouraging fraternities of monks 
to settle in London ; by publishing (1687), in Scotland and 
England, a declaration for liberty of conscience ; and by forming 
an army on Hounslow Heath, of which most of the officers were 
Romanists. 

But most impolitic of all was the direct attack which the king 
made on the two universities. To the vice-chancellor of Cam- 
bridge, Dr. Peachell, a mandatory letter was sent (1687) to admit 
a Benedictine monk to an academical degree, without the usual 
oaths. The Doctor refused compliance, and by the commission 
court was deprived of his office, and suspended from the master- 
ship of Magdalene College. At Oxford, the president of Mag- 
dalene College having died, a mandatory letter issued for the 
fellows to elect Anthony Farmer, a bad man, and report said an 
apostate. On their refusal, Parker, bishop of Oxford, was re- 
commended, but they had already elected Dr. Hough, a man o£ 
eminent virtue. For their obstinacy, James ejected the fellows 
from their college; this affair earned for the king the enmity of 
the great body of the clergy. In the same year, the parliament 



JAMES II. J 63 

was dissolved, and an endeavour made to pack a new one, eo ac 
to secure members favourable to the measures of the court. The 
designs of the king were by this time so transparent, that several 
of the nobility opened communications with William, prince of 
Orange. 

In 1688, a second declaration of indulgence appeared (April 
27) ; it was substantially the same as the first, but appended to it 
was a statement, that the king was immutably fixed in his pur* 
pose and would not give way. An order in council issued, 
rx)mmandii»g it to be read in all churches, this the clergy objected 
to do, and seven of the bishops (Sancroft, Lloyd, Turner, Lake, 
Ken, White, and Trelawny) signed a petition, praying the king 
that the clergy might be excused. Unwisely, James resented 
this interference, and charged the petitioners with rebellion. 
His temper was further inflamed, when it appeared that the great 
majority of the clergy had refused to read the declaration. The 
bishops were committed to the Tower, on the charge of publishing 
a seditious libel, but on being brought before the King's Bench, 
they were acquitted (June 30). While this was going on, a son 
(James the Old Pretender) was born to the king (June 10); the 
people however generally believed that no son had been born, 
and that it was merely a trick of the Romanists. 

III. The Revolution of 1688. 

The prosecution of the bishops, and the birth of an heir to the 
throne, determined the leading whigs to promote a change in the 
government. Danby, Devonshire, Shrewsbury, and others 
pledged themselves to support the prince of Orange, if he would 
cross over with an army. Large preparations began at once in 
Holland, of which James was duly informed ; at first he refused 
iiis belief, and only woke up to his actual position when too late. 
He then set to work to undo some of his most violent acts, but 
to no purpose, for William made good his landing at Torbay, 
(Nov. 5), with an army of 15,000 men. James gathered an army 
at Salisbury, but one officer after another deserted him, till he 
knew not where to place his confidence. Finding his case hope- 
less, he first sent off his wife and child, and then fled himself. 
In all this great movement there was no fighting, indeed no one 
seemed to care for the cause of the falling king, so completely 
nad he lost the support of all classes of the people in little more 
i than three years. On the other side there was an abundance of 
j enthusiasm, persons of distinction repaired to William's camp 
fit Exeter, Danby seized the city of York, and the governor of 
Plymouth declared for the prince. Never was a revolution so 



164 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH U1STORY. 

quietly effected, and rarely has there been so clear a case top 
resistance to the constituted authorities. 

IV. The Interregnum. 

The interregnum includes the period from the day when James 
tied from London (Dec. 11), to the acceptance of the crown by 
William and Mary (Feb. 13, 1689). As soon as the king's flight 
Was known the peers met at Guildhall, and took upon themselves 
to provide for the public safety. After William's arrival in 
London, a nondescript meeting was held to advise what should be 
done ; there were present about seventy peers, such members of 
Charles II.'s parliaments as were then in London, together with. 
thelord-mayor, aldermen and fifty of the citizens. Thisassembly 
recommended that the prince should charge himself with the 
government, and call a Convention to settle the affairs of th6 
nation. The convention parliament met (Jan. 22, 1689), and 
resolved that James, having endeavoured to subvert the consti- 
tution, and having withdrawn from the kingdom, had thereby 
abdicated the government ; and that it was inconsistent with the 
safety and welfare of the Protestant religion, to be governed by a 
popish prince. After a long discussion, it was further resolved 
that the prince and princess of Orange be king and queen of 
England. These resolutions were embodied in the Act of Settle- 
ment, which provided — that the government should be in William 
and Mary conjointly, and in the survivor; then in the children of 
Mary ; then in the princess Anne, and her children ; and then in 
the children of William ; and that any future sovereign being 
reconciled to Kome, or marrying a papist, shall be thereby ex- 
cludedfrom the throne, and the crown and government descend 
to the next Protestant heir. 

To prevent further disputes, the convention parliament passed 
also the celebrated Declaration of Rights (1689), which, after 
enumerating certain grievances which the natien had of late 
endured, set forth what were deemed the ancient rights of the 
people. 1 1 declared as illegal the suspending, or dispensing with 
laws or their execution ; the erection of high commission courts ; 
levying money without consent of parliament; punishing those 
who petition the king ; and keeping a standing army. It also 
claimed as rights, that protestants may havearmsf or their defence; 
that elections and speech in parliament ought to be free ; that 
excessive fines and punishments ought not to be inflicted ; that 
jurors in trials for high treason ought to be freeholders; and that 
there ought to be frequent parliaments. On accepting these con- 
ditions, the crown of England was tendered to William and Mary, 

Miscellaneous iJYcis. Tho revocation of the Edict of Nantci 




WILLIAM TTI. 165 

was an event which had a twofold relation to England. The edict 
was ongmaay granted by Henry IV. (1598), as a charter of rights to 
the French protestants, but Louis XIV. resolved that there should 
6e no protestants in France. After failing to convert them te 
Romanism, he despoiled them of their privileges by the revocation o* 
the edict (1685), and forbade the exercise of the reformed religion. 
Although forbidden to emigrate, 100,000 families escaped from France, 
and transferred their industry to Germany, England, ana Holland. 
Coming to England at a time when men saw cause to fear for their 
protestantism, the refugees exercised considerable influence in de- 
termining the course of events ; they further brought with them 
improved processes in several kinds of manufactures, especially that of 
6ilk. 

Chronicle. 1687, Sir Isaac Newton published his " Principia," 
or exposition of the new theory of the universe. The Jesuits open a 
poor school at the Savoy. 1688, A charity school opened at West- 
minster; the example soon followed at Lambeth, St. Botolph's, and 
other places. 

WILLIAM III. 1689-1702. 

Royal Family. William III. (1650—1702), was the son of 
William II., prince of Orange, by Mary the daughter of Charles I, 
On the death of his father (1650), the stadtholdership remained 
vacant, and was subsequently abolished by the republican party, 
headed by the two De Witts. But when Louis made his inroad into 
Holland (1672), the De Witts were murdered, and William mada 
stadtholder; in two campaigns he drove the French across the 
boundary. In 1677 he married his cousin Mary of England. At this 
period he had formed two designs, which he kept always before him 
so long as he lived — to reduce the tyrannical power of Louis, and to 
secure the liberties of protestants. This led him to form the league of 
Augsburg, and so, it is said, to accept the invitation to England, in 
order that this country might be joined to the protestant interest. 
William was not a man to be loved, yet he must ever be regarded aa 
the instrument by which England was delivered from civil tyranny and 
religious persecution. 

The consort of William was Mary (1662 — 94), daughter of James II. 
by Anne Hyde. Mary, after her father's conversion to Romanism, 
was placed under the care of Compton, bishop of London. Her 
marriage to the prince of Orange did not bring much felicity, William 
was of a cold nature, perhaps unfaithful as a husband, and at one 
time it was thought that death would deprive him of his consort, 
When Mary came to England, her conduct gave occasion for remark, 
as there was an air of gaiety about her, which under the circumstances 
was thought unbecoming in the daughter of James II. Under the 
anxieties of government, her health gave way, and a violent attack of 
small-pox carried her off. The bitterness of the Jacobites against her 
appears from the text which one of them took on the occasion of her 
death ; " Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her, for she is £ 
king's daughter." No children were left by either William or Mary. 

L Completion of the revolution. 
The Convention being declared a proper parliament, it em- 



166 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

ployed itself in settling such matters as so complete a change of 
government seemed to make necessary. The first measure pressed 
on its attention related to the army. A Scotch regiment ordered 
to Holland, set out for Scotland ; thereupon a Mutiny Act passed 
to provide for the existence of a standing army, on the ground of 
its being necessary for the safety of the kingdom, the defence of 
our dominions, and the preservation of the balance of power in 
Europe ; and further, the act provided for the government of an 
arm ed force, by giving power to a court-martial to punish military 
offences. The next point was the settlement of the revenue. Up 
to this reign the entire of the public income passed into the 
hands of the sovereign, and much of it was known to have been 
misapplied. It was now arranged that the sum of £1,200,000 
should be voted yearly, one half for the civil list, the other for the 
public defence. This method of appropriating the public moneye 
was subsequently much improved upon. In consequence of the 
system of appropriating the supplies year by year, and the annual 
enactment of the mutiny bill, it has become an absolute necessity 
that the parliament should meet every year. To give religious 
liberty to nonconformists, there was passed a Toleration Act 
(1689), by which it was enacted — that none of the existing 
penalties be enforced against such dissenters as shall take the 
oaths of allegiance, and subscribe the declaration against popery; 
that the ministers of dissenting congregations shall subscribe the 
Articles, with certain exceptions ; that no conventicles be held 
with locked doors; that meeting-houses be registered, and pro- 
tected from insult ; that dissenters be not excused from tithes or 
from the offices of constable, churchwarden, or overseer; and that 
no part of this toleration be extended to papists, or such as deny 
the Trinity. 

The Revolution in Scotland took place at the same time as in 
England, but was not quite so complete. A Convention declared 
Miat James had, for violating the laws and liberties of the nation 
forfeited the crown; thereupon it was resolved that William ana 
Mary be invited to fill the vacant throne, subject to the condi- 
tions of inheritance contained in a "Claim of Right." Dundee 
offered some resistance, but he was slain at Killiecrankie (July 
27, 1689). By the end of the year, all Scotland had submitted 
to the new state of things, some few of the Highlanders excepted. 
To purchase their submission, the earl of Breadalbane had been 
entrusted with a large sum of money; this potent influence and 
the threat of punishment by fire and sword brought in all the 
heads of cians by the end of December, 1691. There was, how- 
ever, one exception, that of the head of the Macdonalds of 
Srlencoe, and ne was but a day or two behind the time allowed. 



WILLIAM III. 167 

Breadalbane and Dalrymple, two of the worst men in Scotland, 
made an occasion of Macdonald's delay to procure from William 
an order for the destruction of the whole tribe. This order was 
aavagely executed by the military (Feb., 1692), much to the re- 
proach of the king who had given it his sanction. 

II. Reduction of Ireland. 

Ireland beingmostlypapistheldonitsallegiance to James, who 
by the assistance of Louis was enabled to land at Kinsale (March, 
1689), with men and arms. Tyrconnel had 10,000 men ready to 
place at his master's disposal. After holding a parliament in 
Dublin, the king marched his forces northwards to reduce the 
protestants of Ulster. Londonderry endured a siege for foui 
months, during which time both parties suffered so much, that 
there was lost on each side about 8,000 men. The starving in- 
habitants were then relieved by sea, and the siege raised. In 
August, Schomberg landed at Carrickfergus with 16,000 men ; 
after mastering Belfast and other places, he was brought to a stand 
by the Irish army, and entrenching himself for the winter in the 
lowlands near Dundalk, thousands of his troops died. William 
went over in 1690, and found himself at the head of 36,000 men ; 
with these he set out against James, who retired to the Boyne and 
there waited for battle. On the 1st of July, William crossed 
that river, and with little loss, except Schomberg, defeated his 
rival. James after the battle travelled to Waterford and embarked 
for France. 

The south of Ireland soon submitted, but the west held out 
till the next year. Ginckle, the successor of Schomberg, then 
defeated the Irish at Aghrim (July 12), in which battle 5,000 of 
the enemy fell. Limerick shortly afterwards submitted on the 
following conditions, known as the Treaty of Limerick : — that 
the Irish who should submit to William should have secured to 
them their estates, and all the rights they held in the reign of 
Charles II. ; that such as chose might remove out of Ireland , 
that the Roman Catholics should enjoy such liberty in the exer- 
cise of their religion, as in the reign of Charles II. ; and that a 
parliament should be summoned to procure for them further 
security. In virtue of this treaty ,] 4,000 Irish soldiers entered 
the service of Louis, and were known subsequently as the Irish 
Brigade. When the promised parliament met in 1695, so far 
irom confirming the treaty, it placed the catholics under the 
severest laws — no papist could be a teacher in a school, a guar- 
dian, or solicitor; neither was it permitted for a catholic to marry 
I a protestant, or take land by descent or otherwise : and f urthei 



168 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY 

all the regular clergy were banished, and priests required to be 
registered. 

III. Affairs of Scotland— the Darien scheme. 

In 1695 the Scottish parliament passed a bill to further a 
Echeme, for the settlement of two colonies on the Isthmus of 
Darien, by means of which it was proposed to conduct a trade 
with the two Indies. No sooner was the project understood / 
tnan the East India Company and the Dutch merchants petitioned 
against it, and a remonstrance was presented to the king by the 
English parliament. William now found it necessary to disowr. 
the Darien Company. The Scotch, however, who anticipated 
great gains, resolved to proceed, and 1,200 men, besides women 
and children, sailed from Leith in 1698. Having reached the 
" promised land," it soon appeared that Paterson, the projector 
of the scheme, had misunderstood the geography of the district, 
and that the transit of goods across the isthmus could not be ac- 
complished. The settlers broke down in health, their provisions 
failed them, and at the end of eight months, the greater part 
having died, the remainder abandoned the place. Others suc- 
ceeded them in the attempt, but discountenanced by England and 
attacked by the Spaniards, they were compelled to surrender 
themselves prisoners. As those who had subscribed towards the 
expense of the Darien scheme anticipated large profits, their dis- 
appointment and resentment knew no bounds. It was indeed the 
bitter feelings arising out of this affair that occasioned the 
Scotch parliament to pass in 1704 the famous Act of Security, 
to provide for the severance of the two kingdoms unless there 
should be secured to the Scotch certain commercial privileges. 

IV. Opposition to William's government. 

Although WilliamhadrescuedEnglandfromciviland religious 
tyranny, he was not a popular king. This was partly due to hie 
coldness of manner, his foreign extraction, and his partiality to 
foreign favourites, but more to the general state of the nation. 
No sooner did he rill the place of James than it seemed as if the 
leaders of the Revolution repented of what they had done. Several 
of them actuall) carried on a correspondence with the exiled 
monarch, and betrayed the councils of the nation. Eight of the 
bishops and many of the clergy refused to take the new oaths of 
allegiance, and thus obtained for themselves the name of non* 
jurors. In the parliament there appeared little disposition to 
favour the new sovereign, for the grants were made annual, and 
the system of appropriation more strictly enforced; and no sooner 
wae peace restored than the land forces were reduced and Wil- 



WILLIAM III. 169 

liam's foreign auxiliaries ordered to be disbanded. Grants of 
lands in Ireland to his favourites were resumed, and Portland and 
other of his ministers impeached, for lending themselves too 
readily to serve their master's foreign policy. " His whole reign 
was harassed with intrigues of faction and plans of insurrection 
at home ; and his life and throne were assailed from abroad with 
tase plots of assassination by the adherents of James II." 

V. War with France. 1689—1697. 

In consequence of the ambition of Louis XIV., and his known 
antipathy to protestantism, the continental princes had confede- 
rated in the League of Augsburg (1686), for the purpose of 
mutual protection. As Louis supported the cause of James II.. 
William, when he became king, had little difficulty in persuading 
the English to join in a war against France. The causes were 
thus stated : — that the French had made war on the allies of 
England ; had encroached upon the Newfoundland fishery ; had 
occupied by force a part of our American territory ; had made 
depredations on the English at sea ; had disputed the right of 
the English flag; and had sent aid to the rebels in Ireland. 

In 1690, Marlborough, in command of the British auxiliaries, 
crossed to take part in the war. In this campaign the Dutch 
were defeated at Flewrus (July 4), losing 5,000 killed and 4,000 
prisoners. At sea, the English and Dutch fleets, numbering to- 
gether 56 ships, were defeated by the French fleet of 80 vessels 
oft Beachy Head (June 30). Torrington, the English commander, 
retreated to the Thames, leaving the Channel in possession of th^ 
French : the admiral was tried and acquitted, but afterwards d^ 
missed from the service. 

In 1691, the allies, in congress at the Hague, resolved on em- 
ploying 220,000 men ; Savoy now joined the confederacy. The 
campaign produced no battle, and as soon as Mons capitulated 
to the French, William returned to England. 

In 1692, Louis collected a large fleet to make a descent on 
England, the Jacobites undertaking to make a movement at the 
same time. But the conspiracy was discovered, and Marlborough 
and many others being committed to prison, the aifaix came to 
nothing. Not so, however, with the French expedition, for Tour- 
ville put to sea with 63 ships ; the combined English and Dutch 
fleet numbered 99 sail, under admiral Russell. The battle of La 
Bogue (May 19 — 22) ensued, and ended in a loss to the French of 
25 ships ; the English lost none, and yet Russell was charged 
with not having done his best. On the continent, William at- 
tacked die French at Steinhirh (Aug. 3) j a severe battle followed, 

M 



170 OUTLINES OF KNGLlSfl HISTORY". 

in which the allies lost 5,000 in killed, besides many prisoners, 
colours, and guns. 

In 1693 the French fleet captured or destroyed, in the neigh- 
bourhood of St. Vincent, about 80 ships of the Smyrna fleet, 
thereby inflicting a loss on the English merchants of a million 
sterling. On the continent, the French savagely ravaged the 
Palatinate (May), and defeated William at Lander. (July 29) ; 
this battle ended in a loss on either side of 9,000 in killed and 
wounded, besides a further loss to the allies of 70 pieces of 
artillery and many standaKL-3. 

In 1694 the English bombarded the coast towns of France, 
and nearly destroyed Dieppe and Havre. An attempt to destroy 
the arsenal at Brest, cost the English 700 soldiers ; its failure 
is attributed to the treachery of Marlborough. Eussell kept the 
French fleet inactive, by blockading it in Toulon. On the con- 
tinent the campaign was one merely of marches and counter- 
marches. 

In 1695 the towns of St. Malo, Dunkirk, and Calais wen 
bombarded. On the continent, William succeeded in capturing 
Namur (Sept. 1), but its reduction cost the allies 12,000 men 
Meanwhile Louis sent one of his generals to bombard Brussels, 
in retaliation for the bombardment of his coast towns. In 
forty-eight hours, 1,500 houses, besides churches and othe r 
public buildings, were laid in ruins. 

In 1696 the French towns again suffered a bombardment 
On the continent nothing was done but the destruction of a 
magazine of ammunition and military stores, for both sovereigns 
had nearly exhausted the wealth of their subjects. 

This war with France ended in the Treaty of Ryswick (Sept.. 
1697), by which it was agreed — that Louis should not disturb 
the king of England in his possessions or kingdom ; that neithei 
monarch should countenance any conspiracies against the other; 
that free commerce be restored ; that commissioners meet in 
London to settle the Hudson Bay dispute ; and that in case of 
rupture, six months' notice be given to the subjects of each 
power, to remove their effects. 

VI. Second Act of Settlement. 1701. 

The death of the duke of Gloucester, only surviving 6on ot 
Anne, made necessary a second Act of Settlement. Its principa> 
provisions were — that the succession should be in Sophia of 
Hanover, and her heirs, being protestants ; that the sovereign of 
England be in communion with the church of England ; that tha 
nation be not involved in war on account of any foreign dominion 
not belonging to England without consent of parliament ; that 



WILLIAM III. ]71 

the sovereign shall not go abroad without consent of parliament 
that members of the privy council sign such resolutions as thej 
consent to ; that no foreigner, even though naturalized, be i 
privy councillor, a member of parliament, or enjoy any office or 
place of trust, or receive grants from the crown; that no person 
holding office or pension at the pleasure of the crown, be capable 
of serving as a member of the commons; that the judges be re- 
moveable only upon the address of both houses of parliament ; 
and that no pardon under the great seal be pleadable to an im- 
peachment by the commons in parliament. Two or three of 
these clauses were repealed in the reigns of Anne and George I. 
This settlement set aside the claims of the prince of Wales, the 
duchess of Savoy (daughter of Henrietta the daughter of Charles 
I.), and several of the Palatine family, who had abjured the 
reformed faith. 

Miscellaneous Facts. In 1694, was passed the Triennial Act' 
which provided that a new parliament should he called every third 
year. Before this time parliaments were called, and continued in 
existence at the pleasure of the sovereign. The act of 1694 was 
superseded by a septennial act in 1716. In 1696, a Treason Sill passed, 
to define what was treason, and to provide for the accused better 
opportunities for defending himself. This it did by allowing the person 
accused to have a copy of the indictment before the trial ; by requiring 
two witnesses to the same treason; by refusing to admit evidence of any 
act not named in the indictment ; and by requiring indictments to be 
laid within three years of the alleged treason. In 1697 commenced 
the National Debt, for which the following causes have been assigned— 
the inadequacy of the taxes to meet the expenses of the state, and 
the reluctance of the new government to impose more: the expenses 
of the Revolution itself, and the reduction of Ireland: the recoinage, 
which cost in loss and expense two and a half millions ; and the French 
war, which was carried on at an enormous outlay, and at the same tim? 
greatly injured the commerce of England. 

In 1698, William and Louis agreed to the first Partition Treaty, 
the object of which was to divide the dominions of Spain among the 
Dauphin of France, the Archduke of Austria, and the Electoral 
Prince of Bavaria. The death of the Electoral Prince rendered 
necessary a second Partition Treaty (1700), but the intrigues of Louis 
?btained Spain for his grandson Philip ; this led to the formation of a 
second Grand Alliance (1701), and the war of the Spanish succession 
in the reign of Anne. 

Chronicle. 1692. Establishment of the Society for the Eeformation 
it Manners. 1693, The moveable bayonet first used by the French, 
in PiedmDnt. 1694, The Bank of E^land established. 1695, Liberty 
of the press acknowledged. 1696, Ureenwich Hospital founded as 
an asylum for seamen. First Eddystone lighthouse begun. 1697, 
Captain Savery constructs a steam engine for raising water. The 
national debt commenced, by tormmg into one fund all the moneys 
ow^'ng by the government. First union workhouse established for the 
parishes of Bnoiol. 1698, Fort William founded, about which grew 



172 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

»p the city of Calcutta. Establishment of the Society for Promoting 
Christian Knowledge. 1701, Establishment of the Society for the 
Propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts. 

ANNE. 1702-1714. 

.Royal Family. Anne (1664 — 1714) was the second daughter oi 
James II. by Anne Hyde. In consequence of her ill health, she 
resided during part of her childhood in France, first with her grand 
mother and then with her aunt. When her father married Mary 
of Modena, her education was entrusted to Compton, bishop of London, 
but as she had the excuse of weak eyes, her books were much neglected. 
George, afterwards king of England, made an offer for her hand 
without success : in 1683 she was married to prince George of Denmark. 
Anne, like her husband, deserted the cause of her father, and threw 
herself into the hands of the revolutionary party. After the accession 
of William, estrangement took place between the sisters, and it was 
only after the death of Mary, that she was friendly with the court. 
On her accession to the throne, her weakness of character led to 
dependence upon favourites, lady Marlborough first, then Mrs. Masham. 
md through these ladies the whigs and tories contrived to carry on thei" 
.ntrigues, and influence public affairs in England and on the continent. 
Without the vigour of mind necessary for her station she must 
nevertheless have possessed some virtues to have obtained the title of 
" good Queen Anne." Nearly the whoie of her children died in 
infancy, the duke of Gloucester was an exception, and he died before 
he was twelve years of age. 

I. Union of Scotland. 1707. 

Immediately on the accession of Anne, the Scotch parliament 
gave signs of dissatisfaction with the existing relations between 
the two countries. Commissioners met (1702) to consider of a 
union, but as the English would not agree to maintain the rights 
and privileges of the Darien Company, or, as it was more properly 
called, the Company tradingto Africa and the Indies, no progress 
was made. The Scotch parliament therefore passed in 1703 an 
Act of Security, which provided that after the death of Anne, 
"the same person should be incapable of holding the crowns of 
both kingdoms, unless the Scottish people were admitted to share 
with the English the full benefits of trade and navigation," and 
further, that to support their claims, the whole of the men in 
Scotland, capable of bearing arms, should be trained to their use. 
Ihis bill the queen refused to sanction, and so indignant was the 
English parliament, that an English act of security passed in 
1704, providing — that so long as the succession to the crowm of 
Scotland remained unsettled, the natives of that country should 
oot enjoy the privileges of Englishmen, nor be allowed to export 
into England cattle or linen, or import arms into Scotland. So 
threatening did affairs in Scotland becorre, that the queen found 



ANNS. 173 

It expedient to pass the Scotch Act of Security In 1705, the 
question of a union was again introduced into the Scotch parlia- 
ment. Commissioners were appointed to proceed to London tc> 
discuss the terms which when agreed upon proved offensive to 
nearly all parties in Scotland, and yet by means of promises and 
bribes, opposition was disarmed and the bill passed. In the 
English parliament long discussions took place, the bill howevei 
passed by a large majority (1707), to take effect on the 1st of 
May. The principal terms of the union were : — 

That the two kingdoms should form one under the name of Great 
Britain: That the succession should be m Sophia and her protestant 
heirs: That there be free intercommunication of trade, navigation, 
and all other rights and privileges, except otherwise agreed to : That 
the customs and duties be the same in both: That except in what 
otherwise agreed to, Scotland should have the full exercise of her 
own laws and customs : That Scotland be represented in the parliament 
of Great Britain by sixteen peers, to be elected out of, and by their 
own body, and forty-five commoners for the counties and boroughs : 
That Scotch peers take rank next after the English peers of the likr 
orders and degrees : and that the Kirk of Scotland retain its form ot 
worship, and its presbyterian government and discipline. 

II. The strife of political parties. 

Ever since the Revolution, party feeling had run high ; the 
tories indignant that their doctrine of passive obedience had been 
treated so contemptuously, and the whigsthat so much resistance 
should be offered to the change which had taken place. The 
accession of Anne tended to make things worse, and her reign is 
therefore eminently distinguished for the strife of parties ; it i3 
indeed said that its bitterness hastened the queen's death. Al- 
though Anne had taken part with the whigs against her father, 
she nevertheless hated that party, which she looked upon as 
republicans, and enemies to the Church of England. In her first 
parliament, the memory of the late king was insulted by a vote / 
which implied that he had sacrificed the national honour ; ther6 
was also an attempt made to pass an Occasional Conformity Bill. 
As it was no secret that the royal favour rested on the tory side, 
the enemies of the whigs took courage, and churchmen entered 
the lists *?#2\nst them. Dr. Sacheverell, rector of St. Saviour's, 
Southwark,inasermonpreachedbeforethemayorandcorporation 
of London, took occasion to inveigh against thatoleration act and 
dissenters ; he also spoke of the Revolution as an unrighteous 
change, and declared the Church cf England in danger. For 
having done so the Doctor was impeached, and tried in West- 
minster Hall (1710) ; being found guilty he was suspended for 
three veais. During the time ^f trial, the metropolis was full of 



174 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

excitement ; the mob plundered the houses of dissenters, and 
aestroyeti several of their ineeting-houses. From all parts of 
the country came up addresses to the queen in favour of the tenets 
held by Sacheverell. Anne took advantage of this feeling and 
rid herself of all the whigs, Marlborough being the only person 
of note who retained his post. 

In the new parliament (1710), the tcries were in the ascendant, 
and Marlborough was first refused a vote of thanks and then 
charged with peculation, the queen thereupon dismissed him from 
all his employments. It is not so very remarkable that a reaction 
should have set in against the whigs, for from the time of the 
Revolution the English had been taxed more than ever before. 
[t may be no^ced that this change in the ministry, and the sub- 
sequent change in the foreign policy of this country, were brought 
about by a squabble between two of the queen's female favourites. 
So long as the duchess of Marlborough was the favourite, the 
whigs maintained their influence, and the war went on against 
Louis, but when Mrs. Masham, the tool of the tories, supplanted 
the duchess, the whigs fell and overtures were opened for a peace. 
The last great contest between the whigs and tories took place in 
1714, when it was supposed that the protestant succession was in 
danger. Bolingbroke andHarley,nowearlof Oxford, intriguing 
vO bring in the Pretender, were defeated in their purpose only by 
the prompt and energetic action of the whigs. And it so hap- 
pened that these two ministers quarrelled between themselves, 
and the queen, offended with Oxford, dismissed him from office. 
Three days after, before Bolingbroke's plans were ripe, the queen 
was struck with death ; a council met, and at its request Shrews- 
bury became lord-treasurer. Effective measures were at once 
taken, which rendered the Jacobite faction powerless, and pro- 
bably saved the nation from a civil war. 

III. War of the Spanish succession. 1702—1713. 

It was seen in the preceding reign that two schemes, embodied 
in the Partition Treaties, had been agreed upon between William 
and Louis, for disposing of the dominions of Charles II. of Spain, 
who was without any immediate heirs. When Charlee lied in 
1700, it appeared, that under French influence, he had willed the 
entire monarchy to Philip, duke of Anjou, the grandson of Louis. 
This led to the formation of a Grand Alliance to support the 
claims of the archduke Charles to the throne of Spain, in accord- 
ance with the second partition treaty. The alliance included 
England, Austria, and Holland, and subsequently the Empire, 
Portugal, and Savoy. 

Tn 1702. Mailborough at the head of thf allies, captured \ rz- 



ANNE 175 

ieo, t{,nremoude,Stevenswaert,and Liege. The duke of Orrnona, 
in command of 14,000 men and 50 ships of the line, made &h 
attack on Cadiz (Aug. 15) and miserably failed. Admiral Rooke 
more fortunate, found his way into Vigo harbour, in which the 
Spanish galleons under French convoy had sought shelter : his 
bravery was rewarded by the capture of 10 ships of war, several 
galleons, and seven million pieces of eight. 

In 1703, Marlborough captured Bonn, Huy, and Limberg. 
Portugal in this year joined the allies, in consideration of the 
Methven treaty, by which our woollens were to be admitted into 
x'ortugal, the English agreeing to admit port wines at one-third 
Jess duty than the wines of France. 

In 1704, as Vienna was threatened by the Bavarians, Marl- 
borough pushed on to succour the emperor, and at Schellmgberg 
(July 2) defeated the French and Bavarians, killing of the enemy 
more than 7,000 men, the allies losing 2,000 killed. After a large 
French reinforcement under Tallard had joined the enemy there 
was fought the famous battle of Blenheim (Aug. 13), in which 
the enemy lost 35,000 men, the allies 12,000; more than 
100 pieces of artillery, 200 colours, and the baggage of the army 
fell to the victors. This victory saved the emperor, and gave 
him possession of Bavaria. Meanwhile Booke with some of the 
aiiied troops under the prince of Hesse Darmstadt, had captured 
Gibraltar (July 23) with the loss of only about 100 men. After 
this, the admiral sailed into the Mediterranean, and off Malaga 
(Aug. 13) so severely handled the French fleet that they did not 
venture another engagement during the war. 

In 1705, Marlborough reduced some places in the Netherlands 
but fought no battle on account of the backwardness of the allien. 
The earl of Peterborough withbut6,000men contrived to capture 
the fortified city of Barcelona (Oct. 4), which led to the fall of 
most of the places in Catalonia. 

}n 1706, Marlborough defeated Villeroy at Ramillies (May 12); 
tne allies lost 3,000 men, the French 8,000, besides 7,000 prisoners, 
ttieir baggage and artillery, and 80 colours. This victory was 
attended with the immediate conquest of Brabant. In Spain, 
i he allies, under the earl of Gal way, were for a time in possession 
of Madrid, but the advance of Philip and the duke of Berwick 
compelled the earl to retire. In Piedmont the French hao 
formed the siege of Turin, but prince Eugene coming to its 
relief, defeated (Sept 7)theenemy,of whom 5,000 were slain, and 
nearly as many made prisoners. Louis, discouraged, offered to 
cede to the archduke either Spain and the West Indies, or Milan, > 
Naples, and Sicily ; the offer was rejected through the influence 
of England 



1/6 OUTT.liiKS OF ENGLISH HISTOBY 

Lil707,Marlborougrrscampaignwasunproductive. In Spain 
*he allies were most unfortunate, for oiAlmanza (April 14) Ber. 
wick was victor, killing 5,000 men ; the remainder, about 10,000, 
were forced to surrender for want of provisions. From the side 
of Italy, Eugene and the duke of Savoy, at the head cf 30,000 
men, crossed into France to make an attempt on Toulon. It 
proved too well fortified to be forced, so after the English fleet 
had by a cannonade destroyed some of the ships and mostpait 
of the city, the allies retreated without molestation. 

In 1708, to create a diversion, Louis put the Pretender on 
board a small fleet, to carry a force to Scotland, but admiral 
Byng arrived at the Forth in time to prevent a landing. Marl- 
borough fought another greatbattleat Oudenarde (July 11), with 
a loss to the allies of 2,000 men, to the French of 3,000,and 7,000 
prisoners, besides 100 colours. Siege was now laid to Lille, which 
capitulated, though not till the allies had lost 12,000 men ; the 
French now abandoned all the fortified places they held in 
Flanders. During the siege there happened the most brilliant 
exploit in the whole war. General Webb, with 6,000 men in 
charge of a convoy of 800 waggons from Ostend, was attacked 
at Wyendale (Sept. 28) by 24,000 ; the action lasted two hours 
when the French were beaten off, leaving 6,000 dead on the field, 
the allies lost 900. In the Mediterranean, admiral Leake re- 
duced Sardinia, and general Stanhope, Minorca. In the West 
Indies, commodore Wager took some Spanish galleons; his own 
share of prize-money amounted to £100,000. 

In 1709, Louis, on account of the distressed condition of his 
subjects, again made overtures for peace, declaring his willingness 
to give up everything, if the allies would allow his grandson to 
retain Naples ; the offer was not accepted. In June, Marlborough 
and Eugene captured Tournay, and proposing to lay 6iege to 
Mons, a battle was brought on at Malplaquet (Sept. 11). After 
seven hours' fighting the French retreated, having lost 10,000 
men; the loss on the side of the allies was 18,000. Mons ca- 
pitulated in October. 

In 1710, another effort was made at negotiation, and commis. 
sioners met at Gertruydenberg, but nothing could be determined 
Marlborough captured Douay and Bethune, but no battle was 
fought, for the duke was said to be distracted by the news from 
home. In Spain, Philip lost the battles of Almanara (July 27). 
and Saragossa (Aug 20) ; at the latter he had 5,000 killed, be- 
sides a further loss of 7,000 prisoners and all his artillery. Bin 
fortune turned in December, Stanhope was under the necessity 
of surrendering with 5,000 men, at Brihuega ; and a few days 
after, Siaremberg suffered defeat at Villa Viciosa. 



AflNE. 177 

In 1711, Marlborough forced the lines which the French had 
deemed impregnable, and took Bouchain. The unpromising 
state of affairs in Spain led Charles to leave that country ; in 
October he was elected Emperor. An expedition against Quebec^ 
commanded by Hill, Mrs. Masham's brother, ended in disaster*. 
During this year, the *jries were engaged in negotiating a peace 
with France. 

In 1712, Ormond, who had superseded Marlborough, refused 
to act on the offensive, and was shortly after ordered to separate 
his troops from those of the allies; this paralysed the movements 
of the confederated forces, and enabled the French to achieve 
30ine successes. So early as January, plenipotentiaries met at 
Utrecht, and peace was resolved on, though the treaty was not 
signed till the next year. Austria and the Empire stood out till 
1714. 

By the Treaty of Utrecht, (1713), France engaged to acknow 
ledge the Protestant succession of the House of Hanover ; that 
the crowns of France and Spain should never be united; that the 
fortifications of Dunkirk be demolished; and that Hudson's Bay, 
Nova Scotia, and the islands of St. Christophers and Newfound- 
land belong to the English. Spain agreed to cede to the English, 
Minorcaand Gibraltar; and subsequently that the English should 
have the Assiento, or contract for supplying Spanish America 
with negroes ; to cede to the Emperor, Naples, Milan, Sardinia, 
and the Spanish Netherlands ; and to cede Sicily to the duke of 
Savoy. By a Barrier Treaty, the Dutch obtained the right of 
garrisoning certain places in the Spanish Netherlands, for the 
orotection of their own frontiers. 

Miscellaneous Facts. In 1703, happened the great storm, by 
which twelve ships of war, and a large number of merchant vessels 
were lost: the damage done in London was reckoned at a million 
sterling, and at Bristol £200,000. In 1704, a bill passed to enable the 
queen to alienate the first-fruits and tenths, for the purpose of aug- 
menting the stipends of the poorer clergy; this fund is known as 
Queen Anne's Bounty. When the tories came into power in 1710, 
they passed a Property Qualification Biii, which it was supposed would 
give increased strength to the landed interests ; henceforth all members 
for counties were required to have a real estate in land of £600 a year, 
and members for borough* a real estate in land of £300 a year. (This 
law was repealed in 1858.) 

Chbonicle. 1703, Methven or port-wine treaty with Portugal. 
1709, First daily newspaper published — " The Daily Courant." 1710, 
Fifty churches ordered to be built in and near London, for which 
purpose a duty on coal was granted. A. general post-office established 
i for all the British Dominions. South Sea Company established. 
1713, Newcomen's atmospheric steam-engine invented. Leans at in 
terest reduced to five per cent. 



f78 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTOB7. 

Social life in the Stuart Period. 

1. "Food. During this important period of our history £?<-f*»l 
changes took place in the matter of food, principally on account of 
the increase of wealth, and improvements in agriculture. Wheaten 
bread was more largely consumed than ever before, though still th6 
poor and the servants of the nobility ate bread made of barley, rye, 
or oats. This was particularly true of the northern counties, where 
even country squires made their pie-crust ot oaten or barley meal, 
except at Christmas. The vegetables in ordinary use were onions* 
leeks, carrots, and radishes ; in the early part of this period, potat !>e* 
sold for two shillings a pound, and cauliflowers eighteen pence each, 
but towards its close they became much more plentiful. Less salt 
jieat began now to be eaten, for the introduction of clover and turnips 
provided fresh meat all the year round. Beer was the ordinary be- 
verage among the lower classes. Coffee was first sold in London in 
1652, and within twenty years tea came into use. At first they were 
sold as a cold liquid, without sugar or milk, an excise being paid on 
coffee of four pence a gallon, and on tea double that sum. The time 
of meals had undergone little change. The breakfast continued to 
be of bread and meat, washed down with draughts of ale or wine; 
at noon came a dinner of solid joints ; in the afternoon a cold collation ; 
and an early hot supper finished the day. 

The table service was still of the simplest kind; dishes, platters, 
and mugs forming nearly the whole. ThG upper classes used plate, 
the middle pewter, and the lower bowls and trenchers of wood. All 
our apparatus of cups, saucers, china, and highly finished crockery 
was then nearly unknown; the only earthenware they had was of a 
coarse description, known as Delft-ware. An important addition was 
made to the furniture of the table by the introduction of forks, which, 
though not unknown before, were rarely in use before the seventeenth 
century. 

2. Clothing. In the reign of James, the dress of gentlemen was 
much as before, only the doublet and trunk-hose were much paddel 
with tow and bran. A new costume appeared in the time of Charles, 
known as the V andyke dress. It consisted of a doublet of silk, satin, 
or velvet, with large, loose, slashed sleeves ; the collar was covered by 
a band of the richest point lace; a short cloak carelessly worn covered 
one shoulder; the long Dutch trunk-hcse with petticoat fall ending 
in a fringe, or many dozen points, met the top of the wide boots also 
fringed with lace. The hat was a broad-brimmed Flemish beaver 
with a rich band and plume of feathers. The hair was worn long, ano 
the beard terminated in a peak; the fops wore love-locks tied at the 
end with ribbons. 

During the Puritan ascendency, great plainness of attire was affectcd> 
sad-coloured garments took the place of the gay dresses ot the cavaliera 
That party was further distinguished by the old bi^b-crowned hat 
plain collar, and close-cropped hair. After the Restoration, tht 
small-clothes were worn full and loose, ending in ruffles of lace? 
the doublet grew longer and was made loose like a modern sack ; the 
collar gave place to a cravat tied in a knot, the ends hanging down 
5quaie; but the most remarkable change was the introduction or the 
tag. From the time of the Revolution, petticoat breeches gave way 
for tijrhts with long hose drawn up over them; Iod.jj; waistcoats cam« 



TEE STUART PERIOD. 179 

mto fashion; wigs increased in size: the wide brims of the hats were 
turned up; small Geneva bands came into use; and rosettes on the 
shoes were superseded by the buckle or broad tie. No change toob 
place in the dress of the working classes. 

Females wore in the reign of James the enormous fardingale of 
Elizabeth ; ruffs and collars divided the fashion, both being stiffened 
with wires or yellow starch. In the reign of Charles they were replaced 
l by the elegant falling collar edged with lace J the fardingale also gave 
i place to flowing skirts and long trains; bodices were still peaked 
and laced up the front, though slightly open to display a stomacher 
of satin; the sleeves were large and slashed, terminating at the 
wrist with a cuff of pointed lace. The Puritan party and the 
lower orders retained the old hood and high-crowned hat, and were 
jtherwise distinguished by plain attire and sober colours. After the 
Restoration, the dress was not greatly changed, only less slashed and 
trimmed, and worn indecently low. When gentlemen took to wigs, 
ladies began to use powder to obtain white locks. In the reign of 
William and Mary, skirts of dresses were looped back to display 
the rich under- clothing: the sleeves were tight to the elbow, and 
turned back with a large cuff; and long gloves and lace ruffles covered 
the lower part of the arm. But most remarkable was the erection of 
*he hair into a tower ; this was done by combing and building it up s 
till it reached the height of nearly two feet, and then ornamenting ii 
with tiers of ribbons and lace. The tower fell in the next reign, and 
curls came again into use; the old fardingale reappeared under the 
name of a hoop-petticoat ; scarlet stockings became common, as did 
also black patches as symbols of party politics. 

3. Dwellings. Among the nobility the process, which began in 
the Tudor period, went on and a style of buildings was patronised 
naving no relation whatever to the old feudal structures, hence the 
reign of James is said to divide the ancient and modern styles. The 
houses erected for country gentlemen were not very different from 
i those of a later date, only they were less compact, and had widt> 
passages and large closets. Stairs which before time were in some 
corner, came now to be put in a prominent placs. High gables and 
pointed roofs were yet common, but a general improvement appeared 
in the workmanship. A great change took place in town architecture, 
though not before a change was required. Even in London the greater 
part of the houses were of lath and plaster, or of framed wood-work 
with brick filling the interstices, and rising with projecting storeys 
till they almost closed upon each other at the top. This mode of 
construction kept out the sun, and effectually prevented good ventila- 
tion, which at that time was the more necessary as sewers were 
unknown, and filth and garbage of all descriptions thrown into the 
streets. The fire of London, great as was the calamity, proved of 
ultimate advantage, for the legislature ordered that in future all the 
houses in the capital should be built of brick or stone. The materials 
employed compelled the disuse ot the overhanging storey s y and the 
streets of London had more sunlight and more air. This improvement 
was gradually adopted in the provinces. The only change in the 
dwellings of the poor, was the partial introduction of small lead-lights 
in the place of opened or latticed windows. 

In the matter of furniture great improvement was made. In the 
preceding period, it was so scarce that noblemen carried bed and 



130 OUTL1NE8 OF ENGLISH HI8TOBY. 

bedding and many other articles about with them, even to the furniture 
of the kitchen and glass windows, but now tbis necessity no longer 
existed. The improvement was in part due to the introduction of new 
woods, more particularly mahogany, which soon superseded all others, 
as it was found that its beauty increased by use and age. Tapestry 
began to give way to hangings of paper and leather. Carpets were 
coming more into use, though only for state or bed-rooms. In 1660 
oil-cloth was advertised for sale in London. 

4. Amusements. The decline of the old active out-door amuse- 
ments, which commenced in the reign of Elizabeth, went on rapidly. 
Both James and Charles endeavoured to revive them, by the publication 
of the Book of Sports, but these efforts were fruitless, for the spirit of 
the age was against them. The ordinary sports of the poor appear, 
from James's proclamation, to have been dancing, archery, leaping, 
vaulting, May-games, Whitsun-ales, morris dances, and setting up 
of May-poles; the games prohibited on Sundays were the baiting 
of bulls and bears, interludes, and bowling. Fairs were popular, 
but characterised by profaneness and vice. Bear-gardens were not 
uncommon, and theatres appear to have been numerous, in London 
there were five companies when the civil war commenced. By an 
ordinance of the Long Parliament all theatres were closed, but at 
the Restoration they were more crowded than ever, and rendered 
more attractive by the introduction of movable scenery, and female 
performers, whose parts had hitherto been taken by boys. Among the 
upper classes the vice of gambling became common, and led to the 
ruin of many ancient families; their other amusements were hunting, 
racing, rowing- matches, tennis, and skating, and both sexes patronised 
the low exhibitions of bear-baiting and cock-fighting. 

6. Travelling. The means of intercommunication were much 
improved during the Stuart period. For the purpose of making 
roads more passable, turnpikes, or toll-gates, were set up in a few 
places in 1663, it was not however till long after that they became 
general. Still the roads were making slow improvement, for alter 
the Restoration, stage coaches became common in the immediate 
neighbourhood of London, and in 1669, there started flying coaches, 
which undertook to run fifty miles a day in summer and thirty in 
winter. It was at the latter season, that the want of really good 
roads was felt. A continuance of wet weather made some of the 
roads absolutely impassable, and others to be traversed only with the 
greatest difficulty ; frequently gentlemen's carriages were set fast, and 
could not be released without the aid of a team from the next farm. 
Waggons for the transport of goods began to appear, though pack- 
horses were still in many parts the only means of transit. For those 
who could not travel, it was a great advantage that a post-office ?vaa 
established (1635), which before the period cloeed appears to haia 
become a fchrivm^ institution. 



GEORGE I. 181 

HOUSE OP HANOVER. 

George I. 1714—1727. George IV. 1820—1830 
George II. 1727—1760. William IV. 1830—1837 
George III. 1760—1820. Victoria 1837— 

GEORGE I. 1714-1727. 

Royal Family. George I. (1660—1727) the son of Sophia, grand- 
daughter of James L, and the elector of Hanover, came to the throne 
of England by virtue of the second Act of Settlement. He had 
succeeded t . the electorate of his father in 1698, and during the war of 
the SpanisJ Succession, had command for a time of the imperial forces 
against France. " A fair share of the courage and obstinacy of his 
race, steadiness to his engagements and his friendships, and considerable 
sagacity in the management of affairs were the marked qualities 
in the character of this king. He was to the end of life, however, 
in all his views and notions, and in his conduct, much more elector 
of Hanover than king of Engand; and his excessive anxiety about 
not merely the safety but the extension of his hereditary dominions, 
undoubtedly helped to involve this country in the net of continental 
politics to an extent not known before." The king died of apoplexy in 
his carriage, near Osnabruck, and was buried at Hanover, to which 
place he was then travelling. 

The consort of George wa3 Sophia Dorothea (1666 — 1726) daughter 
of George, duke of Zell ; the marriage was one of convenience, for the 
purpose of reuniting the dominions of the family. Sophia was beautiful 
and accomplished, but her indiscretion brought disgrace and embittered 
the remainder of her life. On a charge, never proved and generally 
disbelieved, of an intrigue with count Konigsmark, a Swede, she was 
immured in the castle of Ahlen from 1694 till her death. During the 
whole of her long imprisonment, she never failed to take the sacrament 
weekly, and to make at the altar, every time she did so, a solemn 
protestation of her innocence. When her husband became king of 
England, a proposal for reconciliation made by some influential persons 
was indignantly rejected by Sophia in these words : — " If I am guilty, 
I am not worthy to be your queen ; if I am innocent, your king is not 
worthy to be my husband." 

The children of George I. were : — George, who became king ; and 
Sophia Dorothea, married Frederick William, elector of Brandenburg, 
afterwards king of Prussia. 

I, General discontent. 

Nothing could have been more gratifying to the friends of ih« 
Hanoverian dynasty than the hearty demonstrations in all parts 
of England, on the occasion of the proclamation of the new king. 
But the Jacobite parties soon recovered from the panic into 
which they had fallen, at the unexpected death of Anne, and the 
measures of the new government furnish eel them vitU a plausible 



182 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY 

pretext for disturbing the public peace. It was not unnatural 
for the king to surround himself with wmg ministers, for though 
the whole tory party did not hold Jacobite principles, it is certain 
that many of them did so. Riots broke out in several parts of 
the kingdom, the cry was raised of the church in danger, and men 
shouted, " Down with the whigs, Sacheverell for ever." The 
mob inflamed with zeal for their ecclesiastical establishment 
assembled in large numbers and destroyed meeting houses, and 
insulted the sectarians. Things grew worse after the impeach- 
nient of Oxford, Bolingbroke, and other tories for their part in 
the treaty of Utrecht, and the king felt himself necessitated to 
give his sanction to the Riot Act (July 171 5), which provided 
that if any tw T elve persons unlawfully assembled to the dis- 
turbance of the peace, and any one justice shall command them 
by proclamation to disperse ; if they contemn his orders, and 
continue together for one hour afterwards, such contempt shai) 
be felony without benefit of clergy. 

II. Rebellion in favour of the Old Pretender. 1715-1716. 

Ormond and Bolingbroke, to avoid the consequences of an im- 
peachment fled to France, and gave a flattering report of the 
Jacobite interest in England ; but Louis XIV. happening to die 
at this juncture, no aid could be procured from that quarter. 
Notwithstanding, as assistance had been promised, and the death 
of the French king could not be foreseen, the Jacobites, confident 
of large support, resolved to move in rebellion against the Hano- 
verian king. The earl of Mar, having first advised with the 
adherents of the Pretender, raised the royal standard at Braemar 
(Sept. 6), and proclaimed James VIII. Soon after, 10,000 men 
joined him and he became master of Scotland north of the Forth, 
but he was kept in chock by an inferior force under the duke of 
Argyle. In England, Mr. Forster and the earl of Derwentwater 
headed the Jacobites of the north, who were strengthened by tha 
arrival of part of Mar's force. After proclaiming the Pretender 
in several towns, they were shut up in Preston, and the whole 
party, about 1,400, forced to capitulate (Nov. 13). On the same 
day was foughtthe battle of Sheriff-muir,T\e&\' Dumblane ; though 
victory rested with neither party, Argyle had the advantage, for 
Mar commenced a retreat which led many of his men to desert. 
The Pretender landed at Peterhead (Dec. 22). After a stay of 
about six weeks, as it was most evident that the movement had 
tailed, he and Mar embarked for F; unce, leaving the army to dis- 
perse itself. Although so many prisoners were made, less than 
thirty were executed ; amongst them was the earl of Derwent- 
water, whose forfeited estates were settled on Greenwich Hospital 



GEOKGE I. 



183 



An important change in the constitution grew out of this 
rebellion. According to the statute of 1694, a new parliament 
was to be called every third year, but with " a rebellion scarcely 
quelled, an invasion still threatened, parties in the highest degree 
exasperated, a government becoming unpopular even from its 
unavoidable measures of defence," it was judged expedient to 
extend by a Septennial Act (May 7, 1716) the duration of par- 
liament to seven years. 

The Jacobites continued troublesome all through this reign, 
[n 1722, in full confidence of general support, they entered intc 
a project for seizing the Tower, the Bank of England, and other 
public buildings, and proclaiming the Pretender in different parts 
of the kingdom. Though this scheme came to nothing, Layer a 
barrister suffered death for enlisting men for the Pretender's 
service ; and Atterbury, bishop of Rochester, was condemned by 
a bill of pains and penalties to be deprived and banished, for 
being a party to the plot. 

III. The South Sea Bubble. 1720, 
In 1710 a company was formed for trading to the South Seas, 
principallythroughtheinfluenceof Robert Harley, who promised 
ihe subscribers the monopoly of trade to Spanish America. But 
when this question was settled by the treaty of Utrecht, Spain 
refused to allow more than the A ssiento, by which the English 
were permitted to carry into the colonies 4,800 negroes annually, 
and one ship of merchandise, and this trade was suppressed in 
1718, on account of our interfering with Spain in the Mediter- 
ranean. The Company flourished, nevertheless, and what with its 
wealth, and the respectability of its corporation, came to be con- 
sidered the rival of the Bank of England. In 1720 this company, 
at the suggestion of Sir John Blunt, one of the directors, offered 
to the government £7,500,000 for the irredeemable annuities 
which had been granted in the last two reigns. The offer wa*» 
accepted, and the annuitants were left at liberty to retain their 
government securities, or exchange them for South Sea Stock. 
So promising, however, were the affairs of the Company held to 
be, that most of the annuitants made an immediate exchange. 

The directors now called for new subscriptions, and money 
came in by millions ; to fan the flame, it was rumoured that 
Gibraltar and Port Mahon were to be exchanged for a part of 
Peru ; the stocks now rose to a 1,000, and a resolution passed 
that a yearly dividend should be paid of fifty per cent. In this 
state of public delusion, all kinds of projects sprung up, and men 
snd women from royalty downward flocked to Change Alley in 
fciich numbers, that tables with clerks were get in the streets. la 



184 OUTLINED OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

three months public confidence abated, and stock began to fall 
with rapidity ; a panic ensued, the bubble burst, and thousands 
were reduced to beggary. A severe punishment fell on the di- 
rectors of the Company, and it required ail the skill of Sir 
Robert Walpole to restore the national credit. 

IV. Foreign affairs— war with Spain. 

George, to enlarge his continental dominions, had purchased 
the secularized bishoprics of Bremen and Verden, which Den- 
mark had taken from Sweden, for £150,000 and a pledge to 
protect the seller from the vengeance of Charles XII. In ful- 
filment of this condition, an English fleet was sent to the 
Baltic, and Charles, indignant at the conduct of the king of 
England, proposed to aid the Pretender. Meanwhile (1717), 
a treaty was concluded between England, France, and Holland, 
hence called the Triple Alliance, the main object of which was 
to uphold the treaty of Utrecht, which acknowledged the Pro- 
testant succession of the house of Hanover, but the death of 
Charles of Sweden, at the siege of Fredericshall (1718), pat an 
end to all fear from that quarter. 

Another treaty was made (1718) between England, Austria, 
France, and Holland, known as the Quadruple Alliance. This 
also had for its object the upholding of the treaty of Utrecht, for 
cardinal Alberoni, the chief minister in Spain, was taking mea- 
sures to recover what that country had lost by the treaty. Sar- 
dinia he had already taken, and he now proposed to send an 
armament to Sicily. To prevent the conquest of that island, 
admiral Byng was despatched to the Mediterranean, and in a 
battle fought off Cape Passaro (^ug. 11, 1718), the Spaniards 
lost fifteen of their ships. In revenge for this interference, the 
cardinal fitted out an expedition to assist the Pretender. Arriving 
off Finisterre, the fleet was dispersed by a storm, two frigates 
only reached Scotland. There the Spaniards, together with the 
Highlanders that joined them, made up a force of about 2,000 
men ; the insurgents met with defeat at Glenshiels (1719), on 
tvhich the Highlanders fled, and the Spaniards to the number of 
300 surrendered. In the same year the English took possession 
of Vigo, where they found a large quantity of military stores, 
and 6ome shipping. As Spain suffered loss on all sides, Philip 
gave way, and, dismissing Alberoni, concluded a peace (1720), 
by which that country agreed to renounce all claims on the 
French crown, and to evacuate Sicily and Sardinia. 

In the last part of this reign the sovereigns of Austria and 
Spain entered into close alliance by the treaty of Vienna. The 
former bad already given offenca to England and Holland, by 



GEORGE li. 185 

establishing at Ostend an East India Company, and it was 
suspected there were secret articles between the two powers to 
demand the restoration of Gibraltar and Minorca, which indeed 
proved to be so. To counteract this alliance, George concluded 
l at Hanover (1725), an alliance with France and Prussia, which 
was soon afterwards joined by Denmark. Kussia inclined to 
Vienna, so Wager sailed to the Baltic with a squadron to keep 
the Russians in check. In the same year (1726), admiral Hosiei 
was sent to blockade Porto Bello, where he and most of his men 
died off with fever. In the next year, Spain expended a large 
army in an attempt to reduce Gibraltar. The emperor now made 
overtures for peace, and preliminaries were signed at Paris 
1 1727), by which he agreed to suspend the trade to India for sever, 
years. Philip of Spain refused to join in this treaty, lut in 1799 
he came to terms by the treaty of Seville, by which tne Assienn. 
was confirmed to the South Sea Company, the English agreeing 
to the succession of the Infant Don Carlos to Parma and Tus- 
cany ; the question of the restoration of Gibraltar was passed 
over in silence. 

Miscellaneous Facts. From the time of the Revolution, the 
Convocation of the clerical estate was distinguished for its want of 
temper, and an almost continual dispute between the upper and low^r 
house. In the reign of George it acquired further notoriety by the 
Bangorian controversy, which originated in a sermon by Dr. Hoadley, 
bishop of Bangor, tending as was said, to subvert all government and 
discipline in the church. To put an end to these dissensions the 

fovernment prorogued thve Convocation (1717), and it has never since 
een permitted to meet for business till the reign of Victoria. In 
1718 was repealed the Schism Act of Anne, which provided that no 
person should be allowed to teach in a school or family without 
having first subscribed the declaration to conform to the Church of 
England, and obtained a licence from the bishop of the diocese, and 
had also subscribed the oaths of allegiance and supremacy. 

Cheonicle. 1721 Guy's Hospital founded by Thomas Guy, a 
boekseller. Inoculation for the small-pox introduced into England 
from Turkey, by Lady Mary Wortley Montague. 1725, The order 
if Knights of the Bath re-established by the king. 1726, A charter of 
ncorporation granted to the East India Company, foi the three towns 
of Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta, 

GEORGE II. 1727-1760. 

Royal Family. George II. (1683—1760), the son of George I., 
was born at Hanover, and in 1706 created duke of Cambridge, though 
]ie never set foot in England till his father's accession. In 1717 
the prince quarrelled with his father, and was excluded from court 
for three years, as were also all such peers and others as should keep on 
friendly terms with him. A reconciliation took place ; but it was not 
cordiul in its character. "In his sentiments and politics George II. 

N 



i*36 OUTLINES OF ENGLIbri HISTORf. 

^as as much a German as his father, and he persevered throughout 
his reign in the same system of interference in the affairs of the 
continent, professedly with the object of maintaining the balance oi 
power, but really with an especial view to the preservation of the 
hereditary possessions of his family. Both morallv and intellectually 
his character seems to have very much resembled that of his father; 
he is said to have been somewhat passionate, but open, straight for ward* 
and placable, though apt to entertain antipathies of considerable 
obstinacy, as well as steady in his attachment to tho-e who had 
once attracted his regard." He died of rupture of the heart, at 
Kensington, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. 

The consort of George IT. was Caroline Wilhelmina (1683 — 1737), 
daughter of John, mnrgrave of Brandenburg Anspach. In consequence 
of the death of her father she was brought up at Berlin, under 
the care of her aunt Sophia, the sister of Ge<rge I. Her marriage 
took place in 1705, at which time she was reputed hnndsome ; to 
the last she retained great sweetness of countenance. She was fairly 
learned, and tond of theological disputes conducted in her presence. 
Her influence with her husband was considerable, and exerted in 
obtaining the promotion of pious and learned men to high position? 
in the church. The death of Caroline was sudden and painful, owinf 
to the physicians treating her for one disease, while she was dying o 
another, but which a false delicacy prevented her from naming. 

The children of George II. were — Frederic Louis, prince of Wales, 
died 1751, leaving a numerous issue; Anne, married William, prince 
of Orange; William Augustus, duke of Cumberland; Mary, married 
Frederic, landgrave of Hesse-Cassel ; Louisa, married Frederic, king 
of Denmark ; and three otLers. 



I. Walpole's administration. 

Sir Robert Walpole first entered public office in 1705, and from 
that date filled an important place in the annals of this country. 
At the time of the panic occasioned by the South Sea affair, he 
was deemed the only man capable of putting things right again. 
George, on his accession, retained him at the head of the govern- 
ment, which post he continued to hold in the face of incessant 
opposition till 1742 ; he was charged with gross corruption, but 
the charge was part falsehood and part exaggeration. His policy 
was one of peace and, upon the whole, greatly for the benefit of 
the country. In 1733, he brought forward his great measure, the 
famous excise scheme, by which he proposed to stop the enormous 
frauds on the revenue, in the articles of wine and tobacco. This 
he thought he could accomplish by warehousing these com- 
modities, and making the duty payable as an excise ; he moreover 
proposed to allow the re-exportation from the warehouses, which 
he held would make London a tree port, and the market of 
the world. But the proposal met the strongest opposition both 
within doors and without, and he was reluctantly compelled to 



dEORGE II. 187 

£iye way, for, to use his own words, « he would not be the 
minister to enforce taxes at the expense of blood." 

Attention was drawn in 1736 to a serious riot in Scotland. 
Two smugglers were condemned to die, one escaped bv means of 
the other, named Wilson. This man won public applause, but 
it did not prevent his execution in Edinburgh, though after the 
sentence had been carried out, the rabble attacked the hangman 
and the guard. Thereupon captain Porteous ordered the s Jdiers 
to fire, for which act he was tried and found guilty of murder. 
Before his execution, the sentence was referred to the govern- 
ment, and the queen, in the absence of her husband, granted a 
reprieve. The people, determined not to be disappointed of their 
victim, forced their way into the Tolbooth prison, and having 
6ecured the unfortunate captain, hung him on a dyer's pole. For 
allowing this outrage, the provost was disabled from holding any 
future office, and the city fined £2,000f or the benefit of Porteous's 
widow. 

II. War with Spain. 1739—1748. 

_ Tempted by the high rates of profit, the English had long car. 
ried on a contraband trade with the Spanish colonies. Every 
kind of device was deemed lawful, if it brought success. Thus 
by the Assiento, the English were permitted to carry over one 
ship-load of merchandise annually, but many ships went instead 
of one. At other times, English vessels put into the port under 
pretence of obtaining refreshments, though their real object was 
to sell their merchandise. The result was, the revenues of Spain 
were so reduced, that vessels were appointed to guard the coasts, 
and protect the interests of the mother country. As was natural, 
English ships were frequently searched, and the crews sometimes 
insulted. The opponents of Walpolemade a great outcry about 
the insults offered to England, an ri the minister was forced to seek 
reparation. Spain offered to pay England £140,000 for the 
alleged injuries received by her merchants, and to appoint 
plenipotentiaries to regulate the rights of trade between the two 
countries. The plenipotentiaries met, but as terms could not bo 
agreed upon, war was declared. 

In 1739, admiral Vernon withafleetof sixships captured Porto 
Bello (Nov. 21), in which he found two guarda costas and 10,000 
dollars. With the ammunition found there, all the fortifications 
were destroyed. This success intoxicated the nation. 

In 1740, "two expeditions were resolved upon, to act against 
Spanish America, which it was tho eight would afford an easy con- 
quest, and its wealth a rich oootv. One sailed in September, 
that under Anson, which was to plunder the coasts of Peru, la 



188 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

doubling Cape Horn, the squadron was separated, and only three 
vessels reached the South Seas ; with this force Anson plundered 
the coast, took Paita, a prize tnat yielded £30,000, and then 
crossing the Pacific in his only remaining vessel, captured a 
Spanish galleon with a million and a half of dollars on board. 
The gallant commander reached home by way of the Cape of 
Good Hope in 1744. 

In 1741, the second expedition of theprecedingyear, consisting 
of 115 ships, 15,000 sailors, and 12,000 soldiers having arrived in 
the West Indies, a council of war determined upon an attack on 
(Jarthagena, but as the commanders, admiral Vernon and general 
Wentworth, did not act in concert, the attack failed With their 
military force reduced to 3,000 men, an attempt was made on 
Santiago in Cuba ; this failure was more complete than the other. 

In 1742 nothing of note occurred in the war. Walpole retired, 
Uking the title of earl of Orf ord, and Carteret, earl of Granville, 
aclever but inconsistent statesman, becameprime minister. After 
this year f the war with Spain merges into the general war. 

III. War of the Austrian Succession. 1740—1748. 

With a war already on her hands, England was destined to 
be embroiled in continental affairs, which led to a war with France. 
It happened this way — Charles VI. of Austria having no male 
heir, made provision by what was called the Pragmatic Sanction 
tor the succession of his daughter Maria Theresa to his hereditary 
dominions. To this arrangement most of the sovereigns of 
Europe had given their assent. But when Charles died in 1740, 
the elector of Bavaria put in a claim, and was supported by France 
and Spain. Frederick of Prussia &iso revived an old claim on 
Silesia. George, who had agreed to support the Pragmatic Sanc- 
tion, was for a time the only ally on which Austria could count. 

In 1743, the British troops under the earl of Stair, advanced 
into Germany, mustering with the auxiliaries 40,000 men ; 
Noailles the French marshal commanded 60,000. Stair suffering 
himself to be out-manoeuvred, found his force completely shut up 
in a valley near Dettingeu. At this juncture of affairs kingGeorge 
arrived, and as the army must either move or starve, he resolved 
on the former. The French, too sure of the game, made a wrong 
movement, by which the allies were enabled to defeat the enemy 
(June 27), on whom they inflicted a loss of 6,000. losing them 
selves but 3,000. The English then retired to Flanders. 

In 1744, France declared war against England, and proposed 
to aid the cause of the Pretender by throwing a force of 15,000 
men on the coast of Kent. Half of the troops had actually em- 
burked, and the French fleet anchored off Dun gen e&6 ; when the 



GEORGE II. 18£ 

appearance of admiral Norris, with many ships of the line, led 
them to retire. A storm now arose which wrecked a number of 
the French transports on their own coast, the attempt was there- 
fore abandoned, mueh to the grief of the Young Pretender, who 
had been brought from Rome to take part in the expedition. In 
thisyear, Granville being dismissed was succeeded by the "broad- 
bottom" ministry, so called because of its including men of all 
parties ; the head was Henry Pelham, brother of the duke of 
Newcastle ; the elder Pitt came into this ministry afterwards. 

In 1745, marshal Saxe v/ith 76,000 men invested Tournay ; thb 
allies with 50,000, attempting to relieve that place, brought on 
the battle of Fontenoy (May 11) and were defeated, there being 
a loss on each side of about 7,000. Louisberg, the capital of 
Cape Breton, was in June taken from the French. In this year 
the Young Pretender commenced a movement, an account of 
which will be given separately. 

In 1746, the British troops having been withdrawn, nearly the 
whole of the Austrian Netherlands fell into the possession of 
France. An expedition sent from England ended in nothing 
more than the burning of a few villages in Brittany. 

In 1747, admiral Anson fought a battle off Cape Finisterre 
(May 3), and took several French men of war; and admiral 
Hawke had a like success off Belleisle (Oct. 14). 

The war ended in the peace ofAix la Chapelle (1748), by which 
the Pragmatic Sanction was guaranteed, and England and France 
agreed to make mutual restorations — the former country to give 
two hostages for the restoration of Cape Breton, and the latter 
promising to demolish the fortifications of Dunkirk on the side 
next the sea. The Assiento with Spain was to be settled by a 
separate treaty, which was done in 1750, when the English re- 
signed it on payment of a compensation ; the right to navigate 
the American Seas was left unsettled. Spain however obtained 
the cession of Parma, &c, for the Infant Don Philip. 

IV. Rebellion in favour of the Young Pretender. 1745-6. 
After the failure of the French expedition in 1744, Charles 
Edward, the Young Pretender, found little encouragement in 
France. He nevertheless collected a few followers and somo 
military stores, and started for Scotland ; on his way he lost one 
of the two ships in which his expedition was embarked With 
some difficulty he prevailed on the highlanders to embark in his 
cause. After raising his standard at Glenfinnan (Aug. 19, 1745), 
he set out for the south with 1,600 men. Out-manceuvring Sir 
Joton Cope, who had advanced against him, he passed by way of 
Perth to Edinburgh ; a few days after his arrival there, he de>- 



IPO OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

f eated the royalists under Cope at Preston pans (Sept. 21 ) Thfb 
success gave kira possession of Scotland, and brought in many 
adherents. 

In full confidence of being joined by large numbers of Jaco- 
bites, the prince entered England with about5,000men ; Carlisle 
surrendered in three days (Nov. 16). Marching forward by way 
of Lancaster and Manchester, Derby was reached (Dec. 4), but 
30,000 men were gathering round the Scots, and reluctantly 
Charles submitted to turn his back on London, just at the time 
when the friends of his house were on their way to join him. Nor 
was the retreat less extraordinary than the advance, an affair 
near Penrith was the only check they met with, and the Esk was 
crossed Dec. 20th. After levying a fine on the whig city ot 
Glasgow, the Pretender proceeded to invest Stirling, and when 
General Hawley approached for the purpose of relieving it, he 
met with a disgraceful defeat at Falkirk (Jan. 17). The duke of 
Cumberland now appeared in the field, and completely routed the 
rebels at Culloden (April 16) ; the victory was however disgraced 
by the unnecessary cruelty that followed it. 

From the date of this battle to Sept. 20, Charles was a fugitive, 
and passed through adventures of the most romantic character 
he then succeeded in escaping to the continent, where he led a 
dissolute life till his death at Rome in 1788. Of those engaged 
in the rebellion of '45 more than eighty suffered death, including 
the Lords Kilmarnock, Balmerino,and Lovat, and large numbers 
were transported. Several acts afterwards passed having for 
their object, the breaking down of the highland clanships, and 
the introduction of an improved civilization. 

V. Seven Years' War. 1756-1763. 

Several causes, since the signing of the treaty of Aix la 
Chapelle,had tended to estrange England and France ; the latter 
was especially jealous of us in the colonies. In India the settlers 
of the two nations were frequently in dispute, and in America 
constantly so. The French were offended that we had founded 
the town of Halifax, to which, after the peace of 1748, many 
officers and soJdiers had gone. Then there were boundary dis- 
putes, and an attempt to exclude the English from the lucrative 
fur trade with the Indians; thisthey proposed to do by drawing 
a line of forts from Niagara to theirsettlementsontheMississippi. 
A6 this would inflict loss on the colonists, they took measures in 
1754 to stop the progress of the French, and it is worth notiGe r 
that one of the first expeditions which the colonists sent against 
them was headed by George Washington, afterwards so famous 
\r the war ot icdepe/idence. In the next year, other hostilities 



GEORGE II. l9l 

fallowed though war was not yet declared. Admiral Boscawen 
attacked a French fleet and captured two liners ; in America, 
general Braddock and 700 men were killed in operating against 
Fort Duquesne on the Ohio. As there could be no longer any 
doubt about war, the king, afraid of his electorate, made alliances 
with Russia, Hesse-Cassel, and subsequently with Prussia. 
France allied herself with Ler old enemy, Austria. 

In 1756 admiral Byng was despatched to relieve Minorca. 
which the French were endeavouring to reduce. But Byng's 
tieet was poorly fitted and ill manned, and in an action with the 
enemy did not show so bold a front as might have been expected 
of it ; the result was the loss of the island. Great indignation 
was felt in England at this event, the blame of which did not 
altogether belong to the admiral ; he was, however, condemned for 
not having done his utmost, and shot on the quarter deck of the 
Monarch in Portsmouth harbour. In this year occurred the 
black-hole tragedy at Calcutta, the particulars of which will be 
related in connection with Indian affairs. 

In 1757 the English again met with bad fortune. An ex- 
pedition against Rochefort failed through the want of a good 
understanding between the naval and military commanders. In 
Germany, our ally Frederic of Prussia met with defeat, after 
which the French had no difficulty in shutting up the duke of 
Cumberland, and forcing him to agree to the convention of 
Closter- Seven, by which 30.000 men were disbanded. In this 
year the ministry was reconstructed, and though Newcastle was 
the nominal head, the elder Pitt was the ruling spirit ; from this 
time the result of his vigorous counsels became most striking in 
the conduct of the war. 

In 1758, Senegal and Goree were captured from the French. 
A like success followed our efforts in America, where Amherst 
and Boscawen took Louisberg, the capital of Cape Breton, and 
Prince Edward's Island ; and Forbes took Fort Duquesne, the 
lame of which hechan^ edto Pittsburg. But Abercrombie failed 
in an attempt on the forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point. At 
home a large expedition destroyed at St. Malo three ships of war 
and more than a hundred other vessels, besides a great quantity 
of navai stores. Later in the year the forts and basin at CJier- 
bourg were destroyed, but a second attempt on St, Malo ended 
in a loss of 1,000 men. 

In 1759 an uncommon success attended our arms. Boscawen 
captured two French ships of war in Lagos Bay, and Hawke, a 
gale of wind blowing, attacked the French fleet in Quiberon Bay 
'Nov. 20) ; a part he took or sunk, and the remainder was lost oi 
driven up the Vilaine. This important victory put an end to al! 



192 OUTLINES CF ENGLISH HISTOfcY. 

fear of French invasion, and prevented that nation from doing 
anything more at sea during the war. Prussia, our ally, was lesa 
fortunate. Frederic nevertheless won a great victory at Minden 
(Aug. 1), where the French would have been entirely destroyed 
but for the misconduct of lord George Sackvilie, the commander 
of most of the allied cavalry. 

In America, Pitt proposed the conquest of Canada. His pro- 
ject included four distinct lines of operation, three of them to end 
at Quebec, where the combined forces were to operate together 
The first, commanded by Amherst, was to reduce Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point, and then descend the St. Lawrence ; the second, 
under Prideaux, was to reduce Fort Niagara ; the third, under 
Stanwix, was to move against the line of communication between 
Lake Erie and Fort Duquesne ; and the fourth, under Wolfe, to 
move from England. The first three accomplished their purpose, 
but neither Amherst nor Johnson, who had succeeded Prideaux, 
was able to arrive in time to act in concert against Quebec. Wolfe 
carried over with him about 8,000 men and a fleet of 42 sail in- 
cluding frigates. With incredible difficulty he contrived to place 
his men on the heights of Abraham, and on the next day received 
the attack of the French under Montcalm, the governor of Quebec. 
Fortune favoured the English, but Wolfe fell (Sept. 13) at the 
moment of victory. Montcalm too fell mortally wounded. Tiie 
garrison capitulated, and Quebec became an English possession. 
In the West Indies, Guadaloupe yielded to an English force. 

In 1760 the tide of success rolled on. The forces which were 
intended to act with Wolfe, entering Canada, gathered round 
Montreal, under Amherst as commander-in-chief, upon which tha 
French capitulated (Sept. 8) and were sent home, leaving th3 
English in possession of the entire province of Canada. 

VI. Affairs in India. 

The Mogul empire in India was already on the decline, when a 
finishing stroke was put to it by Nadir Shah, a robber chieftain 
who had raised himself to the Persian throne. Entering India 
in 1739, he defeated the Mogul and took Delhi ; on retiring to 
ais own dominions he carried off treasure estimated at eighty 
millions in value. The Mogul remained, but his army wai 
destroyed, his treasury empty, and his sources of revenue nearh 
annihilated. In this state of disorganization the rajahs and 
eoubahs, though professing themselves dependent, ceased to pay 
any real obedience to the throne of Delhi. The empire indeed 
crumbled away. Bengal became the domain of one, and Mysore of 
another, the nizam held the district bet ween Calcutta and Madras, 
and every year saw the formation of sovereign states out of a 



QEOKGE II. 193 

i>ait of the empire. While these changes were going on, the 
French and English were rivals, the former having settlements at 
Pondicherry and Chinsura. During the war of the Austrian 
S uccession, hostilities broke out between them, and Labordonnais, 
the governor of the Mauritius, brought a force which captured 
Madras (1746), which English settlement was held by the French 
till 1749. 

From this period there appeared a design on the part of the 
French to found a European empire in India, an idea first started 
by Dupleix, the governor of Pondicherry. And it so fell out, 
that the course of events was favourable for the attempt, for in 
1748 the nizam died, and there appeared two claimants for the 
succession. At the same time a struggle was going on in the 
Carnatic between two competitors for dominion. Dupleix allied 
himself with the pretenders, and for a time his ability and good 
fortune prevailed everywhere. He was declared governor of 
thirty millions of natives, put in command of the cavalry, obtained 
for the French the privilege of mintage, and for himself no small 
part of the hoarded treasure. The French exultingly set up their 
flags close to the boundary hedge of Madras, and it was evident 
even to the natives that English interests in India were on the 
verge of ruin. 

From this point of degradation we were raised, and India won 
for the English, by an obscure youth — Robert Clive. When a 
lad, Clive gave so much trouble and so little promise, that his 
father sent him out as a writer to Madras ; there his health be- 
came indifferent, melancholy followed, and twice he attempted 
suicide. He first threw aside the pen when Labordonnais cap- 
tured i>Jadras, but was forced to resume it when peace came. 
Wow when the success of Dupleix perilled the very existence of 
an English settlement in Southern India, Clive came forward and 
entered upon his career of victory. The only ally left to the 
English was besieged in Trichinopoly ; Clive proposed to save 
him by the capture of Arcot, and this he effected in 1751 with a 
force of only 500 men, 300 of whom were sepoys. Having taken 
post in the citadel, with a force reduced to 320 men, he beat ofl 
an army of 10,000. From this time the English power rose on 
the ruins of that of France. 

Among the fragments broken off from the Mogul empire waa 
that under the rajah of Bengal and Bahar, who boasted of ruling 
a population of thirty millions. Aliverdah Khan the rajah died 
in 1756, and was succeeded by Dowlah his grandson, a man ot 
brutal passions, and who bated the English as much as his pre- 
decessor respected them. Picking a quarrel with the settlers at 
Calcutta, he was not long before he attemptod the reduction of 



194 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

that city. Most of the residents, including the governor and 
military officers, fled, leaving Mr. Holwell, a civil servant of the 
Company ; and nearly 200 men to shift for themselves. Fort 
William was lost in two days, thereupon the surajah's guards 
thrust the remaining 145 Englishmen and one woman into the 
Black Hole, or military prison, a room only 18 ft. by 14 ft., with 
Iwo small windows. It was the hottest season of the year, and 
many were suffering from recent wounds, ooon they became 
frantic from intense thirst, and stifled for want of air ; in the 
struggle that ensued to get near the windows, all the weakest 
were trampled down. Gradually all contest and noise ceased, 
but it was the silence of exhaustion and death ; when morning 
came but twenty-three remained alive. Calcutta was sacked, 
and an edict declared that no Englishman should again presume 
to set foot within the province. 

When this disaster happened, Clive was at Fort St. David, of 
which he had been appointed the governor. As soon as tidings 
came, an expedition was prepared at Madras, of 200 Europeans 
and 1,500 sepoys, and the command given to the hero of Arcot. 
Calcutta was retaken without the loss of a single life ; proceed- 
ing up the river, Hoogly was taken from the surajah, and Chan- 
dernagore from the French. Nor was this all, for Clive had re- 
solved to dethrone the cause of all this trouble, and for this 
purpose secured the aid of Meer Jaffier, the commander-in-chief 
of the nabob's troops. The plot was blown before matters were 
ripe, so Clive resolved to stake all on a battle, though his entire 
force was but 3,000 men, of which two-thirds were sepoys, and 
ten guns. On the other side, the nabob brought 50,000 men into 
the field, but the battle is not always to the strong, for he was 
ruinously defeated at Plassey (1757), and shortly a^ter assas- 
sinated by one of his own subjects. Meer Jaffier became now 
the nabob of Bengal, and paid to the English as compensation 
money nearly three millions sterling. After some further suc- 
cesses over the Circars and the Dutch, Clive returned to England, 
where he received an Irish peerage, and obtained a seat in the 
Commons. 

Miscellaneous Facts. Id this reign was founded (1739) tlmf 
body of dissenters known as Methodists. This section of religionists 
had its origin at Oxford, where several students, including John and 
Charles Wesley, Hervey, the author of the well-known " Meditations," 
and Whitfield, leading a stricter lifp than was usual, obtained the de- 
risive name of Methodists. After being for a time missionaries in 
the new settlement at Georgia, the two Wesleys returned to England 
and commenced preaching in the open air; Whitfield also did the 
same. In this way they gathered round them many converts from 
\}\a lower classes, which were first formed into societies by the older 



GEORGE II. 13a 

Wesley But as Whitfield held the Calvinistic doctrine of predesti- 
nation, he separated from his friends, and thus were formed two 
sections, known as the Calvinistic Methodists and the Arminian 
Methodists. That field preaching proved so successful is attributed 
*o a want of energy in the Establishment, and the fact that in many 
places the population had overgrown the existing provision for its 
spiritual wants. Writing on this subject, lord Mahon remarks: — 
" In the reign of George the First, the reflecting few could perceive 
that the Church of England, though pure as ever in doctrine, was 
impaired in energy, and must have either help or opposition to stir it. 
That impulse was in a great measure given by the Methodists. The 
clergy caught their spirit, but refined it from their alloy of enthu- 
siasm. The discipline of the Church was gradually revived, and its 
deficiencies supplied. Every year the Establishment rose higher and 
bigher in efficiency and usefulness; and it has checked and arrested 
:he progress of the Methodists, not so much by their faults as by iti 
merits." 

Till this reign the English had retained the Old Style, in which the 
error had grown to eleven days; a bill was therefore passed for the Ite» 
formation of the Calendar. It was enacted that the year should hence- 
forth commence on the 1st of January, and not as before on the 25th of 
March, and that eleven days should be suppressed. This was carried 
into effect in 1752. by taking out eleven days, and calling the 2nd of 
September the 14th. 

Hitherto the law of marriage had been so loose, that unions could 
be formed in England with more facility than subsequently at Gretna 
Green. No notice or publication of banns was looked for, and the 
ceremony might be performed at any time or in any place, without 
consent of parents, or any other preliminary condition. This facility 
led to young heirs and heiresses, scarcely more than infants, being 
inveigled into improper matches, and there were ever ready degraded 
clergymen to perform the ceremony in cellars, in garrets, or in ale- 
houses, to the scandal of religion and the ruin of families. To stop 
so great an evil it was enacted — that banns should be published in 
the parish church for three successive Sundays; that no licence be 
granted to a minor; that the power of granting a special licence for 
performing a marriage at any place or hour be reserved to the arch- 
bishop ; that any marriage contrary to this act be null and void; and 
that the person solemnizing it be liable to transportation for seven 
years. 

Chronicle. 1730, Fahrenheit's thermometer invented. 1731, 
Hadley's quadrant invented. It is enacted that English be used ir 
?ourts of law instead of Latin. 1732, Georgia founded by the bene- 
volent general Oglethorp. 1735, Harrison constructs his first time- 
piece; his fourth chronometer is used at sea in 1764, and he receives 
a reward of £20,000. 1738, First patent for spinning by rollers ; from 
this event is dated the commencement of the second period of cotton- 
spinning, i.e., by machinery. 1741, Military Academy founded ati 
Woolwich. 1746, The electrical apparatus known by the name of 
the Leyden jar, or phial, invented. College of Surgeons founded. 
1750, Halifax in Nova Scotia founded. 1752, Franklin invents the 
lightning conductor. 1753, The British Museum established in Mon- 
tague House. 1758, Brindlev commences the JBridgewater canal. 1759 



196 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

First improvement of the stocking loom — the " Derby rihs," by Jedediah 
Strut*. 

GEORGE III. 1760-1820. 

Royal Family. George III. (1738—1820) was the eldest son of 
Frederic, prince of Wales : his father died suddenly in 1751, in which 
year his son George succeeded to his title. During his youth the 
prince was kept in great privacy, to preserve him from the fashionable 
profligacy of the day. His political education was much neglected, 
tor lord Bute, who reigned supreme in the household of the dowager 
princess, was from mere ignorance of the subject a very unfit director 
of the political studies of the prince, nor were any of his coadjutors 
or subordinates much more competent. In the earlier part of his reign 
the king had an attack of illness which proved a predisposition to 
insanity ; in 1810 this terrible visitation settled on him in a permanent 
form, and his son George became Prince Regent for the remainder of 
the reign. 

George III. "had no pretensions to any superior penetration or 
vigour of understanding, but he possessed rather more than the 
ordinary endowment of practical tact and skill in the management both 
of affairs and men. He was perfectly master of all the proprieties of 
his station, which never, at least on important occasions, lost any of 
its respectability or authority during his occupation of it. . . The 
decorum of his private character also was of much service to him, as 
well as probably efficacious in no slight degree in giving a higher tone 
to the public manners, and in making the domestic virtues fashion* 
able, even in the circles where they are most apt to be treated with 
neglect. It ought not, moreover, to be omitted, that with whatever 
narrowness of view, consequent upon his training and his position, 
George III. may be chargeable, he was — what many influential persons 
of his time were not — an avowed friend to the diffusion of education." 

The consort of George III. was Charlotte Sophia (1744r— 1818) the 
daughter of Charles Frederic, prince of Mecklenburg- Strelitz. The 
attention of George was first drawn to her by a letter which she had 
written to the king of Prussia, and which that monarch sent over to 
the king of England as a miracle of good sense and patriotism. 
Having privately satisfied himself that the reports of her intelligence 
were correct, the king married her in 1761, Charlotte being then in hei 
seventeenth year. In person she was diminutive and plain, with a 
temper neither very pliable nor forgiving, yet she was possessed 
of strong sense and great prudence. Her manners were not engaging, 
and this may partly account for her not being generally popular, 
though as a wife and. a mother her conduct was exemplary. Her 
domestic habits and simplicity of tastes led both her and her consort to 
live much in seclusion, with few attendants and no visitors. SLe 
constantly opposed every kind of immorality and vice, and her court was 
more irreproachable than any other in Europe. It is said that she 
expended upwards of £5,000 annually in works of benevolence. Mai kg 
of her favour were given to Mrs. Trimmer, Hannah More, and other 
female authors, whose writings wero directed to moral and religious im- 
provement. 

The children of George III. were, -George Augustue Frederic whs 



GEORGE JII 197 

became king: Frederic, duke of York: William HeDry, duke of 
Clarence, who became king: Charlotte Augusta Matilda, married 
Frederic, king of Wurtemburg : Edward, duke of Kent : Augusta Sophia : 
Elizabeth, married Frederic, landgrave of Hesse-Homburg : Ernest 
Augustus, duke of Cumberland : Augustus Frederic, duke of Sussex • 
Adolphus Frederic, duke of Cambridge: Mary, married her cousin 
William, duke of Gloucester: Sophia Octavius, died young: Alfred 
died young : and Amelia. 

I. End of the Seven Years' War. 

In 17bl the English captured Dominica in the West Indies, 
and Belleisle on the coast of Brittany ; the latter cost many men 
in its reduction, but its conquest was thought desirable, in order 
to obtain more favourable terms in a treaty then negotiating with 
France ; the truth was, Pitt proposed to offer Belleisle for tho 
restoration of Minorca. France objected, being engaged at 
that time in negotiations with the Bourbon kingof Spain to form 
a " Family Compact ; " having done so, such demands were made 
for the two countries, that the English would negotiate no longer. 
Pitt, made aware of the true character of this compact, and that 
Spain was making warlike preparations, proposed an immediate 
declaration of war against that country ; to this the council would 
not agree, and the minister resigned. Lord Bute became now 
orime minister. 

In 1762 the new minister was compelled to declare war against 
Spain (Jan. 4). That country, because Portugal would not join 
in her policy, sent an armed force and captured several Portuguese 
towns. English forces were despatched to the aid of our old ally, 
and the Spaniards driven back beyond the frontiers. In the west 
Indies, Rodney and Monckton took Martinico (Feb. 18) from the 
French ; the dependent isies, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent, 
subsequently surrendered to the English. The next effort was 
against Havanna; this also was successful ; it capitulated (Aug. 
13) and yielded to the captors, in treasure and merchandise, the 
sumof three millions sterling. A likesuccess attended our arms 
in the East, where Manilla was captured (Oct. 6), and the sum 
of four million dollars received as ransom for property. About 
the same time an English squadron captured the Acapulco galleon, 
valued at three million dollars ; and another, captured off St. 
Vincent, was found to have on board treasure to the amount 
of nearly one million sterling. In November, preliminaries of 
peace were signed at Fontainebleau. 

This war ended by the Treaty of Paris (Feb. 10, 1763), by 
which France ceded to England, Canada, Nova Scotia, Gape 
Breton, Tobago;Dominica, St. Vincent, and Grenada, also Senegal 
in Africa ; but the French were to have a right jf tishery on the 



198 OUTLINES OF ENOLISH HISTORY. 

banks of Newfoundland, and the isletsof St. Pierre and Miquelon 
as fishing stations. In Europe, Minora* was to be exchanged for 
Belleisle. Spain agreed to cede Florida to England, and the right 
>f cutting logwood in Honduras ; and by a private conventioE 
France agreed to give Louisiana to Spain in compensation for 
Florida. Peace was subsequeLtly made between Prussia and 
A istria by the treaty of Hubertsberg, Silesia being confirmed td 
tii3 former country. 

II. The affair of John Wilkes. 

Bute, a comparative stranger in England,but a favourite with 
the king, had been the principal promoter of the peace, which was 
held to be far less advantageous to this country than our success 
entitled us to. The blame fell on the minister, and the king in 
his speech having spoken of the peace as alike honourable to the 
crown and beneficial to the people, Wilkes, a member of parlia- 
ment and editor of a paper called the '''North Briton," assailed 
the speech in a bitter and scurrilous manner. Bute had just re- 
tired from office, but his successor, George Grenville, resolved to 
prosecute Wilkes for libel. A general warrant, that is a warrant 
not specifying the names of the parties, was issued, and Wilkea 
being apprehended was committed to the Tower. Brought to 
Westminster Hall by habeas corpus, the chief justice released him 
as he was a member of parliament. Proceeding against the 
secretary of state for illegally arresting him, he obtained £1,000 
damages, and a declaration from the chief justice that general 
warrants are unconstitutional and illegal. And yet the com- 
mons ordered his paper to be burned by the common hangman, 
andsubsequently expelled Wilkes from their house (1764). After 
residing abroad for a time, Wilkes returned in 1768 and was 
elected for Middlesex; being rejected by the house, he was re- 
elected, though only to be again refused admittance. These pro- 
ceedings were thought to encroach on public liberty, and the cry 
"Wilkes and Liberty" resounded throughout the kingdom. 
Tumults arose, and several lives were lost. In 1769 he pro- 
ceeded against lord Halifax for the seizure of his papers, and 
obtained £4,000 damages. In the next year he submitted to give 
a bond for good behaviour; from this time he rose successively 
*to the highest office in the city, and at a later date to a seat again 
In the commons. 

III. The American War of Independence. 1775—1783. 

The Seven Years' War, which had been carried on principally 
for the protection of our American colonies, had entailed great 
additional burdens on the mother country ; it was therefore to b* 



GEORGii 1IL 199 

expected that on the return of peace some attention should be 
paid to the matter of revenue. In order to check the prevalence 
of smuggling, both at home and in America, ships of war were 
stationed on the coast ; this the colonists resented, because of the 
greatness of their gains by the illicit traffic carried on with the 
West Indies and the Spanish settlements. Moreover Grenville, 
in 1764, imposed duties on several articles of American trade,and 
at the same time proposed a resolution that it would be proper to 
charge the colonists with stamp duties, the same as in England. 
In 1765 that minister procured the passing of the stamp act. 
When this was known in America, popular demonstrationsagainst 
the measure took place, and most of the provincial assemblies 
passed resolutions, denying the right of the mother country to 
tax them without their own consent. This year Grenville, not 
being able to agree with the king, gave place to the marquis of 
Rockingham, who in 1766 repealed the stamp act of his prede- 
cessor. His administration, however, fell through, and was suc- 
ceeded by one under the leadership of the elder Pitt, now created 
earl of Chatham ; in consequence of Pitt's continued illness, the 
duke of Grafton took his place. In 1767 the English parliament 
passed a bill for levying import duties in America, on glass, paper, 
painters' colours, and tea ; these the colonists resolved not to pay, 
and formed associations for abstaining from their use. In 1770, 
Grafton losing his supporters resigned, and was succeeded by lord 
North, who procured the repeal of the taxes of 1767, with the 
exception of that of tea. 

Dissatisfaction continued to ripen in America, and various indi- 
cations appeared of the coming struggle, but it was not till 1773 
that any serious outbreak occurred. In that year three ships 
laden with tea, that had entered the port of Boston, were boarded 
by a number of persons disguised as Mohawk Indians, who flung 
the tea loose into the sea, to the value of £18,000. The news of 
this outrage led the Eritish parliament to pass a bill closing the 
port of Boston, and another which provided that henceforth the 
council of Massachusetts should be appointed by the crown, and 
not elected by the people. Thereupon, that colony with eleven 
others, agreed to send delegates to Philadelphia, where being mel 
they resolved to cut off all commercial intercourse with England 
till the obnoxious statutes were repealed. They also drew up a 
Declaration of Rights, claiming for themselves all the liberties of 
Englishmen. Both sides now prepared for an appeal to arms. 

In 1775 hostilities began by the affair at Lexington (April 19), 
which happened this way. The colonists having collected military 
stores at Concord, general Gage, the governor of Boston, sent out 
a force to destroy them. On the road they found a body of 



200 OUTMNES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

militia under arras, a skirmish took place and lives were lost. 
Pressing on, the royal troops destroyed the stores that had not 
been removed, but on their return they were incessantly fired 
upon by the militia, and lost in killed and wounded about 250 
men. This success put heart into the colonists, and many thou- 
sand men were drawn together in the neighbourhood of Boston ; 
they even occupied the peninsula of Charlestown, and threw up 
entrenchments on Breed's Hill, which commanded the town. An 
attack made on this position cost the English a thousand men in 
killed and wounded. This action is erroneously called, from a 
neighbouring height, the battle of Bunker's Hill (June 17}. Mean- 
while the " glorious victory of Lexington," for so the Americans 
etyled it, had led to an expedition under the command of Mont- 
gomery and Arnold. Having first made themselves masters of 
forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point, they passed into Canada, but 
contrary to their expectations, the Canadians gave them neither 
sympathy nor succour. Montreal fell, but an attack made on 
Quebec failed (Dec. 31), involving the loss of Montgomery and 
many of his men. The Americans nevertheless blockaded Quebec 
till the middle of the following year, when they were driven out 
of the province with considerable loss. 

In 1776, general Howe, who had succeeded Gage, found the 
blockade so close that he must quit Boston or starve ; he retired 
to Halifax, a movement which left New York to fall into the 
hands of Washington, the commander-in-chief of the rebel army. 
The colonies in congress now issued (July 4), a formal Declara- 
tion of Independence, on the ground that whenever any form of 
government becomes destructive to thelife, liberty, and happiness 
of the governed, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, 
and that as they had suffered repeated injuries and usurpations 
from the king of Great Britain, they solemnly declared that the 
United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and inde- 
pendent states. In July, Howe with krge reinforcements from 
home moved southward to obtain possession of New York. A 
landing was made on Long Island, and Washington defeated at 
Brooklyn (Aug. 27), which put New York into the hands of the 
royalists. The affair at Trenton, at which Washington took 
dearly a thousand Hessians prisoners, closed the year. 

In 1777, Washington made a second stealthy inroad on the 
English troops at Princeton (Jan. 2), and besides killing 100 
men, carried off 300 prisoners. Howe, after much loss of time, 
embarked his troops and sailed up the Chesapeak. Washington 
tooK post to save Philadelphia, and a battle was fought at Brandy- 
urine (Sept. 11); fifteen days after, the capital of the insurgent 
colonies was occupied by the royal troops. This success wu2 



GEORGE 111. 201 

more than balanced by the disgrace which befell the English arma 
elsewhere. A plan had been proposed to open up a direct com- 
munication between Canada and New York, and 7,000 men placed 
under general Burgoyne to effect this purpose. This force was 
to move from Canada, whilst Clinton was to move from New 
York to co-operate. Burgoyne marched from Crown Point in 
June, and reaching Ticonderoga, the Americans drew off in the 
night. Pushing on through a rugged country, he was confronted 
at Stillwater (Sept. 19) ; victory declared for neither side, but 
the loss of men and want of provisions led the English to retreat 
to Saratoga, Here Burgoyne was soon surrounded and com- 
pelled to surrender his force, about 6,000 men, prisoners. Clin- 
ton, after much delay, had moved on to the support of the army 
from Canada, but retired on hearing of its fate. 

In 1778 the war became more involved, for Burgoyne's defeat 
decided the French, who had not forgiven us the conquest of 
Canada, to enter into the quarrel. That government therefore 
agreed (Jan. 6), to a treaty of alliance with the United States, and 
having intimated that such was the fact, withdrew their ambas- 
sador from London. This step on the part of France tended to 
increase the anxieties of the English ministry, and the more so as 
individuals in both houses of parliament began to urge the expe- 
diency of purchasing peace, by acknowledging the independence 
of the revolted colonies. It was to resist the duke of Richmond, 
who advocated such a step, that the earl of Chatham, ill as he 
was, went to the house and solemnly protested against the dis- 
memberment of the monarchy. In attempting to speak a second 
time he was seized with a fit and fell on the ground ; in about a 
month the " great commoner " expired. Lord North, not un- 
willing to oiler terms of reconciliation, passed through the houses- 
two bills, one repealing the duty on tea, and declaring that for 
the future England would not impose any duty, tax, or assess- 
ment whatever in any of the American colonies, except such as 
should be expedient for the regulation of commerce ; the other, 
appointing commissioners with sufficient powers to treat with the 
solonists. But it was too late, the terms were not listened to, and 
the commissioners returned to England. Howenad passed the 
winter in Philadelphia in frivolous amusements, and his successor 
Clinton had no sooner taken command than he received orders 
to evacuate the place and concentrate his forces at New York. 
Nor did he move any too soon, for a French fleet appeared at the 
mouth of the Delaware with a reinforcement of troops from 
Toulon. Nearer home, admiral Keppel engaged the French flee4 
off Ushant (July 27) ; its barren results, arising from some bad 
feeling among the officers, raised an outosy throughout the country. 



202 OUTLINES OF ENOLI8H HISTORY 

In 1779, our perplexities were further increased by Spain join- 
ing the league against us, on the ground of various insults and 
interruptions to her trade. Spain undoubtedly wanted tack 
Gibraltar, hence she began operations against that fortress (June 
21) ; the siege was continued till the peace, the rock being all 
that while gallantly defended by general Elliot. In America, 
there were some skirmishes and burnings, but no event of much 
importance. 

In 1780, England had her difficulties further increased by the 
Gordon riots, the particulars of which will be related separately, 
and by the armed neutrality of the northern powers. Our fleets 
kept the seas with varying success, Rodney defeated the Spanish 
fleet off St. Vincent (Jan. 16), but on the other hand the 
Spaniards captured about sixty of our rich merchantmen. This 
was a fair game, the great difficulty was with the neutral nations, 
who took advantage of existing hostilities to drive a profitable 
trade with our enemies. Thus a Dutch convoy fell into our hands- 
laden with military stores for France and Spain ; in like mannei 
the Spaniards took two Russian vessels freighted with corn for 
Gibraltar. The empress Catherine thereupon issued a declara- 
tion to the effect, that free ships make free goods, that contra- 
band articles are only such as a treaty stipulates, and that 
blockades, to be acknowledged, must be effective. This became the 
basis of the armed neutrality, or an alliance to support these 
claims, if necessary, by force of arms. Towards the end of the 
year, evidence appeared that the Dutch were forming an alliance 
with our revolted colonies, and war wa* therefore declared 
against that state. 

In America, general Clinton captured Charleston (May 12), 
but die event of most interest was that in which Arnold and 
Andre were concerned. The former was one of the American 
generals, who having been reproved by Washington for pecu- 
lation, thought to revenge himself by giving up his post, the 
fortress of West Point, to the English. Major Andre*, of the 
British service, was appointed to carry on the negotiation, un- 
fortunately he was seized by some militia-men, and hung as a 
spy ; Arnold made good his escape to the English quarters. 

In 1781 Rodney captured the Dutch island of St. Eustatia 
^Feb. 5), taking in the bay 150 merchantmen and six ships of 
war, and property on shore valued at three millions sterling. In 
America, small battles were fought with varying success, till a 
French fleet entered theChesapeak, when Cornwallis found him- 
self compelled to surrender at York-town (Oct. 19). with his force 
of r i\CH^j men. This ei.cied the Americar war. so tar as mil'tary 
operations were concerned. In Europe. lidiaii il Parker.in chargi 



GEORGE HI. 203 

of a convoy trom the Baltic, fought the Dutch, near the Dogger, 
hink (Aug. 5); the honour of the day was divided, for both fleeti 
were thoroughly disabled ; the enemy, as soon as they could refit 
sailed for the Texel, and Parker was not in a condition to oppose 
them. 

In 1782,Minorca,whichhadbeenunderattack fromacombined 
French and Spanish force, capitulated (Feb. 5). The bad suc- 
cess of the war led to a resolution by the Commons in favour of 
peace. North now resigned his place to the marquis of Rocking- 
ham, who dying in the course of the year, was succeeded by lord 
Shelburne. Though now resolved on peace, we were not without 
some success. In the West Indies, Rodney severely defeated 
the French fleet, under De Grasse, off' Ghiadaloupe (April 12) ; 
the enemy's ships being full of troops, the slaughter was im- 
mense, 3,000 slain and 6,000 wounded. Gibraltar had been under 
siege since 1779, this year it was certainly to be taken by the aid 
of bomb-proof floating batteries, but the red-hot shot from the 
garrison destroyed them in one day (Sept. 13). Of the enemy, 
16,000 perished, and many more would have done so but for the 
humanity of the English. The siege nominally continued till the 
peace. 

The negotiations for peace, which had begun in the preceding 
year, were brought to a close with the several powers in 1783, on 
terms sufficiently humiliating for England. By the Treaty of 
Versailles we guaranteed to the American colonists the inde- 
pendence of the United States, with the right of fishing on the 
banks of Newfoundland. To France we granted a share of the 
Newfoundland fishery, and the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon ; 
and undertook to restore Tobago and St. Luck in the West 
Indies, in return for Dominica Grenada, and other islands : in 
the East Indies we were to restore Chandernagore, Pondicherry, 
and other possessions ; and further, we were to give up our claim 
for the dismantling of Dunkirk. To Spain we were to give up 
Minorca and both the Floridas, but to have from that power the 
right of cutting logwood in Honduras. To Holland we restored 
all her possessions except Negapatam. Besides the heavy burdens 
borne by the people at the time, this war added £100,000,000 to 
our national debt. 

IV. The Gordon riots. 1780. 

/ a address from the Catholic body led to a repeal in 1778 of 
certain penal laws of long standing. Such were the punishment 
of popish pnestb as -felons or traitors ; the forfeitures by popish 
heirs educated abroad, the power given to a son or nearest re- 
lation, being a protestant, Of t*&ing possession of a father's or 



204 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTOItY 

other relation's estate ; and the depriving papists of the power of 
acquiring landed property. The protestante in alarm formed 
associations to endeavour to procure ths repeal of the recent act. 
In London, the anti-catholic party was under the guidance of the 
half-insane lord George Gordon, who called a gathering in 
Bt. George's Fields, to give force to the petition he was about pre- 
senting to parliament. As many as 60,000 persons met, and 
walked in procession to Palace Yard ; the prayer of the petition 
being rejected, the mob gave way to violence. The catholic 
chapels of the ambassadors were destroyed, and the prisons forced 
and then set on fire. Matters grew worse, for the mob took to 
pillage, and when men had become maddened with drink, no less 
than thirty fires were to be seen blazing at one time. For fiva 
days the rabble had possession of London, then the king in 
council ordered out the military, and quiet was restored, though 
not till nearly 500 persons had been killed or wounded. Several 
of the ringleaders perished on the scaffold, but lord Gordon the 
prime mover was acquitted, the charge of high treason not being 
sustainable. 

V. The French Revolution. 1789. 

For many years France had been in an unsatisfactory condition 
The nobles were divided among themselves, the Church had lost 
most of its influence over the people, and much of the literature 
was impure and infidel in its character. Moreover, the burden of 
taxation fell principally on the poorer classes, and had been much 
increased by the recent wars ; indeed, the financial difficulty was 
felt to be overwhelming. New ideas of public rights and the 
equality of man began to be diffused, and the French government 
in the blindness of passion took up the cause of our rebel colo- 
nists. The French who took part in this quarrel could but feel 
that their case was manifold worse than that of the English 
colonists. Ideas picked up in America were brought back to 
France, and spreading with rapidity, gave birth to great results- 

In 1787 the parliament of Paris refused to register some ne\* 
taxes, the quarrel grew, and after the assembly of the Notables 
and the States-General, a National Assembly was formed (1789), 
and the French Revolution begun. It was in this year, that the 
mob destroyed the Bastille, or state prison ; formed the national 
guard out of the citizens of Paris ; and adopted the tricolor as 
the national flag. Throughout France there were great excesses 
committed, which led to the emigration of the nobles. The 
abolition of nobility, corporation, tithes, &c, followed. In 
October a banquet at Versailles, at which there was an outburst 
of loyal enthusiasm, led an armod rabble to murder the guard, 



GfcORGE III. 206 

Rnd remove the royal family to Paris. In the following year a 
new constitution was promulgated, France divided into depart- 
ments, church property confiscated, and a system of assi gnats (a 
kind of paper money) adopted. The year 1791 was marked by 
an unsuccessful attempt on the part of Louis XVI. to escape out 
of the country, the growth of the Jacobin club of ultra' revo- 
lutionists, the treaty of Pilnitz between the emperor of Germany 
and the king of Prussia to join their forces to deliver the king of 
France, and the opening of the new Assembly. In 1792 France 
declared war against Austria, the Swiss guards were massacred 
at the Tuileries, and the rcyal family conveyed prisoners to the 
Temple ; at the head of this stage of the movement were Danton, 
Marat, and Robespierre. A revolutionary tribunal was now 
erected, and 5,000 massacred in the prisons of Paris. The estab- 
lishment of a National Convention followed, and France became 
a republic. The defeat of the Austrians led to the annexation 
of Flanders to France ; subsequently Savoy and Nice were also 
annexed. 

VI. The War of the French Revolution. 1793—1802. 

At first, this movement in France met with favour in England, 
being looked upon simply as the effort of a brave but oppressed 
people to shake off the results of a government radically bad. 
But a reaction set in, when it was found that the French were 
guilty of such horrible excesses, and apparently intent upon the 
establishment of a system of licentiousness. The immediate cause, 
however, which led the English to enter upon this war was the 
issue (1792) of two decrees by the French Convention ; one de- 
claring, u they would grant fraternity and succour to every 
people disposed to recover their liberty ; " the other, "that in all 
countries conquered by the Republic, liberty, equality, and the 
sovereignty of the people should be secured, with the suppression 
of nobility and all exclusive privileges, of all existing taxes, and 
all constituted authorities." These decrees led to the rapid 
spread of Jacobinism in England, and with the opening of the 
Scheldt for navigation contrary to existing treaties, were thought 
to make warnecessary in self-defence. And when the execution 
of Louis was known, the French ambassador was ordered to leave 
England (Jan. 24, 1793) ; on the 1st of February, the French 
Convention declared war against the king of Great Britain. 

In 1793 the course of events in France became terrific in the 
Highest degree. Both Louis XVI. and his wife Maria Antoinette 
were guillotined. A civil war in Vendee brought on ine royalists 
the most unheard of cruelties. In one month, 15,000 persons 
perished at Nantes alone ; the total number of victims in that 



206 ATTUNES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

place during the reign of Terror exceeded 30,000. This cruelty 
was only surpassed by their impiety, the Christian religion was 
abolished and the churches closed, and a loose female enthroned 
in Notre Dame, to represent the goddess of reason. An English 
urmy under the Duke of York captured Valenciennes (July 28), 
but our success did not go further. In the South of France, 
Toulon was held by the royalists supported by admiral Hood ; it 
was however soon invested by an army of 40,000 republicans, 
amongst whom was Napoleon Buonaparte, then a young artillery 
officer. The town becoming untenable, the English withdrew, 
carrying with them 15,000 refugees, though not till they had 
destroyed twenty, three ships of war. 

In 1794 England was so disturbed by the growth of revo 
lutionary societies, that the habeas corpus was suspended six 
months, and Home Tooke and others tried for high treason. 
Things improved in France, by an end being put to the reign of 
terror, and the execution of Robespierre and his party ; daring 
the period that now ends, not less than a million victims had been 
sacrificed. In Poland, Kosciusko raised the national standard, 
the movement was crushed by Suwarrow, who took Warsaw and 
put 20,000 to death ; Poland soon after ceased to be a nation. 
By sea the English fleet under Howe defeated the French oft 
Brest (June 1), capturing twelve ships of the line. By land we 
were less successful, for the loss of the battle of Muremonrt/i 
(Oct. 2), forced the allies to withdraw from Flanders, and the 
British troops to make a long retreat amidst the rigours of a 
most severe winter. After resting awhile at Osnaburg, they 
embarked for England in the next spring. 

In 1795 the French set up aaother new constitution — a 
Directory ci five, with a council of ancients and a council of five 
hundred ; an insurrection growing out of this change was ex- 
tinguished by Buonaparte's mowing down the mob of Paris with 
grape-shot. The allies were weakened this year by the secession 
of Prussia and Spain, and Holland was no longer with us, for 
the French had overrun that country, and the Stadtholder be- 
came a refugee in England. War being now declared against 
Holland, the Cape of Good Hope was captured (Sept. 16). 

In 1796 Buonaparte, now commander-in-chief in Italy, forces 
the bridge of Lodi, gains many battles, and takes Mantua. Spain, 
by the treaty of Ildefonso, formed an alliance with Fiance and 
declaied war against England. The English captured Ceylou 
and Malacca in the East, and several islands belonging to the 
French and Dutch in the West Indies. At the close of the year. 
Hoche sailed from Brest with thirty -three ships of war and 
2S000 troops for the invasion of Ireland, but a storm scattered 



OLORGE III. 207 

the fleet, and that part which reached its destination could not 
effect a landing. 

In 1797 the French had much success. Napoleon crossed the 
Alps, and threatening Vienna, compelled the Austrians, first to a 
suspension of arms, and then to the peace of Campo Formio, by 
which France obtained Flanders, Venice at the same time being 
ceded to Austria. This year was marked by two naval victories 
on the part of the English. Admiral Jervis, aided by Nelson 
and Collingwood, defeated the Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vincent 
(Feb. 14), and admiral Duncan the Dutch fleet off Camperdovm 
(Oct. 1 1). Otherwise this was a year of great trial for England, 
party spirit raged with intense violence, Ireland was unsettled, 
public burdens so great and public credit so low, that the Three 
per Cents fell to fifty-one, and an invasion panic produced such 
a run upon the banks, that the bank of England was reduced to 
pay in sixpences, and by an ordsr in council subsequently sus- 
pended cash payments altogether. Even worse than all this was 
the mutiny of the seamen, first in the Channel fleet and then at 
the Nore, the latter headed by an intelligent seaman named 
Parker. The men complained of the low rate of pay, unequal 
distribution of prize-money, and severity of the discipline. These 
grievances being remedied, the ships one by one returned to their 
duty ; Parker and other ringleaders suffered death, the other 
mutineers received pardon. 

In 1798 the French took possession of Rome, and established 
the Roman Republic; other republics were formed in Italy. In 
May, Napoleon sailed with a large armament from Toulon, and 
having obtained possession of Malta (June 11) through the 
treachery of the knights of St. John, to whom it belonged, passed 
on to Egypt with the ulterior design of deprivingusof our Indian 
possessions. Alexandria fell into his hands, and the celebrated 
Mameluke cavalry were defeated at the battle of the pyramids 
(July 21). Nelson in command of a fleet followed the French, 
whom he defeated at Aboukir bay (Aug. 1), after a battle which 
lasted through the night. The French lost in the battle of the 
Nile all their ships except four, and more than 8,000 men in 
killed and wounded; for this victory Neison received a peerage. 
}n this year Minorca was taken by general Stuart. The Irish 
rebellion of 1798 will receive .a separate notice. 

In 1799, Europe, encouraged by the victory of the Nile, formed 
a second coalition against France, which included England, Ger* 
many, Russia, and other states. Napoleon, cut off from Europe, 
made an attempt to reduce Syria. Entering that country in 
February, he successively reduced El Arish, Gaza, and Jaffa, and 
won the battle of Mount Tabor * bat after besieging Acre for 



T A& CUTL1NE8 OF ENGLISH HICTOtU. 

sixty days lie was compelled to retreat, principally through (hd 
gallant conduct of Sir Sydney Smith and a few British seamen. 
After his return to Egypt, he defeated the Turks at Aboukir in 
July, and in the next month embarked for France, then in a state 
of anarchy and disgrace, by reason of the defeat of her army in 
Italy by the Russians under Suwarrow, and the contempt into 
which the Directory had fallen. Through Napoleon's influence 
the Directory was abolished, and replaced by three consuls, of 
whom he held the first place. Only a moderate degree of succesa 
attended the English arms this year. It is true that Nelson was 
instrumental in taking Naples, and that Duncan obtained posses- 
sion of the Dutch tleet, but the Helder expedition under the duke 
of York, after a barren victory or two, proved a failure, and the 
duke found himself forced to enter into a convention with the 
French, for the embarkation of the British troops. 

In 1800, the French had again much success. Napoleon crossed 
the Great St. Bernard and reconquered Italy, winning the battles 
of Montebello and Marengo; this led to a peace with Austria at 
Luneville. In Germany, Moreau won thebattle of Hohenlinden. 
The only noticeable success of the English was the reduction of 
Malta (Sept. 5), after a blockade of two years. Not only were 
we left alone in the contest,but the northern powers again entered 
into an agreement to re-establish the armed neutrality, for pro- 
tecting the commerce of neutral vessels. 

In 1801 were united the parliaments of England and Ireland, 
and William Pitt retired from office because the king would not 
consent to certain concessions to the Irish catholics, or more pro- 
bably that he might not stand in the way of peace. Addington 
succeeded to the place of Pitt. Generally this year was one of 
success to the English. Abercrombie with the troops from Malta 
moved on to Egypt, where he defeated the French at Alexandria 
(March 21) ; by convention, the French surrendered Cairo and 
Alexandria, and were carried back to Europe. To break up the 
maritime confederacy of the north, admirals Parker and Nelson 
carried a fleet into the Baltic ; the latter undertook the bombard- 
ment of Copenhagen (April 2) ; after severe loss on both sides the 
Danes submitted to an armistice. In Russia, a conspiracy carried 
off the emperor Paul, and produced a change of policy; the 
maritime confederacy was now abandoned. Napoleon, engaged 
in a project for the invasion of England, collected a numerous 
flotilla of gun-boatsand other small craft at Boulogne. A power- 
ful armament under lord Nelson, sent to destroy it, proved a 
failure (Aug. 15), on account of the vessels being securely chained 
together, and under the protection of the batteries on shore. 

Meanwhile negotiations were being carried on for settling * 



GEOttGE III. 209 

peace, and preliminary articles signed at London in October, 1801 
In 1802 a definite peace, between England on one side and 
France, Spain, and Holland on the other, was concluded by the 
Treaty of Amiens (March 25). England agreed to give up all 
her colonial conquests except Ceylon and Trinidad ; to restore 
Egypt to the Porte, Malta to the knights of St. John, and the 
Cape of Good Hope to Holland ; France on her part agreed to 
evacuate the Boman and Neapolitan dominions, to guarantee 
the integrity of Portugal, to recognise the Ionian Islands as a 
republic, and to compensate the house of Orange for the loss or 
Holland. 

VII. Irish Rebellion, 1798 ; Union with England, 1801. 

As early as the middle of the century, signs of a movement 
began to appear in Ireland. Jn 1759 the Catholics as a body 
presented an address to the lord lieutenant, which not being un- 
favourably received, gave that party hope for the future. A few 
years later, popular outrages commenced, chiefly by the Whiteboys, 
as they were called, from wearing frocks over their clothes. 
During the war with the American colonists, and the absence of 
troops from Ireland, many volunteers were embodied ; taking 
advantage of these circumstances, meetings were held at which 
they passed resolutions, to retrieve the independence of their 
legislature, and secure enlarged commercial privileges. The 
volunteer corps were dissolved in 1783, but the movement went 
on, and in 1784 a national congress held at Dublin petitioned for 
parliamentary reform. This the king was unwilling to grant, and 
the British merchants stood in the way of enlarging their com- 
mercial rights. The French revolution inspired the Irish with 
new hopes, and in 1791 was formed an association called the 
u United Irishmen," to obtain a complete reform of the legisla- 
ture. As the government felt some alarm, it gave permission to 
catholics to marry protestanc-s. to educate their own children, and 
to practise at the bar, but forbade any more meetings of the 
United Irishmen. But they were already in correspondence with 
the French government, which agreed to aid them with large 
forces ; this was the object of the expedition under Hoche in 
1796, and in the year following another attempt would have been 
made but for the opportune defeat of the Dutch fleet by Duncan. 
It was at this period that the protestants known as the Orange 
party organized a yeomanry force ; and in 1797 the country wa& 
put under military law, for secret societies existed everywhere. 
When it war found they could not count on French assistance, 
the Irish resolved to make trial without it. and the 23rd May, 
1798, was the day fixed for the rising. The project becoming 



2 1 V OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY 

known to the government, many of the leaders were arrested, yet 
risings took place in several parts, but the principal gathering was 
in Wexford. General Lake, at the head of a large force, attacked 
the insurgents upon Vinegar Hill (June 20), and gave them a 
complete defeat. Two months after, about 900 French landed 
at Killala ; a force being sent against them, they yielded them- 
selves as prisoners of war. It now became evident to the 
English government that something must be done with or for 
Ireland, a union was therefore determined upon. To this the 
Irish generally had a strong dislike, but the Irish parliament 
proved pliable and the thing was effected. 

The Union Bill provided that on January 1, 1801, Great Britain 
and Ireland should be united by the name of the United Kingdom 
if Great Britain»and Ireland : that the succession to the crown continue 
as before limited: that there be one parliament, to which Ireland 
should send four lords spiritual by rotation of sessions, and twenty-eight 
lords temporal, elected for life, and a hundred commoners: that the 
churches of England and Ireland be united into one prorestant episcopal 
church, with the same doctrines and worship : that the subjects of both 
kingdoms be entitled to the same privileges with regard to trade and 
navigation : and that the laws and courts of each kingdom remain the 
same, subject to such alterations as the imperial parliament may think 
necessary." From this time the cross of St. Patrick was combined 
with those of 8t. George and St. Andrew in the union flag, and th^ 
title of king of France omitted from the titles pertaining to the 
jrown of Great Britain and Ireland. 

VIII. Renewal of the war with France. 1803—1815. 

The short peace proved buta breathing- time, for it soon became 
evident that Napoleon was not a man to consider himself bound 
by a treaty. Nevertheless he complained that the English had 
not fulfilled the conditions, for they were still in possession of 
Malta, Egypt, and the Cape. To this it was replied that the 
knights had been despoiled of their property, and therefore could 
not keep Malta if it were put into their hands, and that the 
English were not disposed to give up these places so long as 
France continued to occupy Switzerland and Holland. Napoleon 
further complained of the attacks upon him by the English press, 
and of our affording an asylum to the Bourbons and their fol- 
lowers. To the former complaint, answer was made that in 
England the press was free, and could only be proceeded against 
by due course of law ; to the latter, that the laws of England 
gave no power to expel them. Napoleon resolved on war, and 
meanly ordered the arrest of above 10,000 English, then on 
pleasure in France, the majority of whom did not recover their 
liberty till the peace came. 






GEORGE ill. 211 

In 1803 the French occupied Hanover, Bremen, and Hamburg, 
and pushed themselves into Italy. Immense preparations oegan foi 
the invasion of England. Every port from Brest to the Texel waa 
on the alert to push on some kind of craft to Boulogne, at which 
place 150,000 men were to embark to cross the Channel. Abroad, the 
English captured St. Lucia and Tobago from the French, and from the 
Dutch, Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice. 

In 1804 Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor, and crowned by the 
pope. All his efforts were now concentrated on i is projected invasion. 
To secure the safe passage of the army of invasion across the Channel. 
He proposed that the several squadrons in French and iSpanish ports 
should form a junction in the West Indies ; then returning, the 
combined fleet was to raise the blockade of Kochefort and Brest, 
and with this increased force he calculated on being able to defy 
any fleet which the English might bring against him. This scheme 
was spoiled by Sir Robert Calder in the next year. Nelson again 
attacked the flotilla at Boulogne, but with as little success as before. 
By treaty, Spain had undertaken to pay an annual subsidy to France of 
nearly three millions sterling, England remonstrated and then ordered 
the seizure of the Spanish treasure ships. Spain now declared war 
against us. In this year Pitt again assumed the reins ot government. 

In 1805 the energy of Pitt organized a third coalition against 
France, which included Russia, Austria, and Sweden. Napoleon'e 
scheme of invasion began now to develop itself. The combined 
French and Spanish fleets sailed for the West Indies, whither Nelson 
when he learnt their route followed them, but they were already on 
their return to Europe. Calder was cruising off Finisterre, and 
though he had little more than half the force, attacked the enemy 
(July 22) and captured two Spanish ships. Villeneuve, the French 
admiral, took shelter in Cadiz, and thus to the mortification of Napo- 
leon completely thwarted the invasion scheme. As a consequence, 
the army of invasion broke up suddenly in September, and commenced 
its march to the Rhine. Nelson by this time was at the head 
of the blockading squadron before Cadiz, and Villdneuve after some 
hesitation came out with thirty- three sail of the line. Having hoisted 
his memorable signal, " England expects every man to do his duty," 
Nelson bore down on the enemy in two lines, containing together 
twenty-seven sail of the line, himself m the Victory leading one, and 
Collingwood in the Royai Sovereign ieading the other. In the battla 
of Trafalgar (Oct. 21 y the enemy J':st Id ships and 20,000 prisoners? 
a glorious victory was won, but it :ost the life of the gallant Nelson, 
and 1,690 British in killed and .• ounded The news was, however 
received by the nation with unbounded joy, fr,i it put an end to all fears 
of invasiLn, and was indeed the ruin of the enemy's navy, and 
consequently the last naval battle during the war. More fortunate by 
land, the French secured the surrender of 30,000 Austrians at Ulm s 
and Napoleon defeated the Austrians and Russians at Austerlits 
(Dec. 2), in which battle the allies lost 30,000 men. The peace of 
Presburg followed, by which France obtained Venice and the Tyrol. 

In 1806 Pitt died, worn out by the excitement of political life, and 
was succeeded by lord Glenville, of whose ministry Fox was the leading 
member, till the closing part of the year, when he followed his 
rival to the grave. Our euci esses this year were not great. The Cap* 



212 0UTLINS8 OF ENGLISH HISTORY 

tf Good Hope was captired (Jan. 8), the French were defeated at 
Maida (July 4) by Sir John Stuart, and Buenos Ayres taken by 
Beresford, though shortly afterwards it was retaken by the Spaniards. 
Napoleon still revelled in success, his brother Joseph was declared 
king of Naples, and Louis, another brother, king of Holland. The 
Confederation of the Rhine was formed, with Napoleon its protector, 
the old empire being dissolved, and the title of emperor of Germany 
renounced by Francis of Austria. A quarrel with Prussia led to the 
battle of Jena (Oct. 14), in which the Prussians lost 20,000 on the 
field, and the same number as prisoners. This victory put Berlin into 
the hands of Napoleon. From this city he issued the celebrated 
Berlin decrees, the object of which was the annihilation of British 
commerce. 

In 1807 Napoleon abated nothing of his ambition. Proceeding 
against the Russians, he first fought the indecisive battle of Eylau, 
and a few months later won the victory of Friedland (June 14), in 
which battle his opponents lost 17,000 men. The treaty of Tilsit 
followed. Russia fell off from the English interest, and Prussia lost 
half of her dominions; a part of them was erected into the kingdom 
of Westphalia, and given to Jerome Buonaparte. The French 
emperor now turned his ambition in another direction, and by a 
treaty with Spain made arrangements for dividing Portugal. A 
French force entered Lisbon, and the royal family of Portugal embarked 
for the Brazils, At the close of the year Napoleon issued the Milan 
decrees, which made more stringent than betore the prohibition of 
all commercial intercourse with Britain, in order to exclude her 
commerce from the harbours of all the continental states. 

A partial success attended the arms of England. Monte Video 
was captured (Feb. 3), but an attempt to recover Buenos Ayres 
miserably failed. As Turkey had declared war against Russia, then 
our ally, Sir James Duckworth was sent against Constantinople to 
create a diversion. The Dardanelles were passed (Feb. 19) without 
much loss, but the admiral suffered himself to be amused by a show 
of negotiation, the Turks meanwhile putting the capital in a state of 
defence. Duckworth was now obliged to retreat, and lost 260 men in 
repassing the straits. In pursuit of the same policy a British force 
landed in Egypt; Alexandria and Damietta fell into our hands, but 
Rosetta held out; a party of our troops being made prisoners, we 
agreed to a convention by which the English evacuated Egypt 
immediately. By the secret articles of the peace of Tilsit, Denmark 
was to place her fleet at the disposal of France. To prevent this, 
England sent a powerful armament to demand the surrender of the 
Danish fleet, with the promise of its restoration when peace came. 
This proposal being rejected by the Danes, Copenhagen was invested, 
and ultimately the fleet brought off. In this year a new ministry was 
formed, with the duke of Portland at its head. 

The Peninsular War. 1808—1813. 

In 1808 Napoleon displaced Ferdinand of Spain, and promoted hit 
brother Joseph to that kingdom, Murat taking his place at Naples, 
The Spanish people greatly disliking this change rose against the 
French, and alter many excesses, issued u declaration of w*r against 



GEORGE III. 213 

France. Assistance was readily granted by the English government) 
and an expedition of 10,000 men, then at Cork and about to sail fol 
South America, was put under the command of Sir Arthur Wellesley 
for service in the Peninsula. The English army landed in Mondegc 
Bay (July 30), and defeated the French at Bolica (Aug. 17), and 
again at Vtmeira (Aug. 21) ; Sir Arthur was now superseded, and by 
the convention of Cintra, the whole of the French troops evacuated 
Portugal. 

In 1809 success begins to dawn upon our land forces, though the 
tommencement of the year was most unpromising. Sir John Moore, 
who had taken command of the army in Portugal, advanced into Spain 
depending upon considerable support from the Spaniards. But he was 
disappointed, and soon found that 50,000 French, under Soult, were 
moving against him. A disastrous retreat through Gallicia ended in a 
Aerce battle at Corunna (Jan. 16), which, though it brought victory 
brought also the death of Moore. The English embarked in transports 
and left the French in possession. A new coalition including England, 
Austria, Spain, and Portugal, was soon broken by the defeat of the 
Austrians at Landshut, Eckmuhl, and Wagram, and there followed the 
peace of Vienna, by which France acquired additional territory. In the 
Peninsula, Wellesley, again at the head of our forces, crossed the Douro 
(May 12) and sat down in Oporto to the dinner prepared for Soult, who 
had made a hasty retreat. Marching into Spain, he defeated Victor at 
Talavera (J uly 27) : in this brilliant action the French lost 10,000 men, 
the English 6,000. But this victory was balanced by the failure of the 
Walcheren expedition, under the earl of Chatham. This armament; 
designed for an attack on Antwerp, consisted of nearly 200 armed 
vessels and 30,000 troops; but stopping on the road to take Flushing 
gave time for the assembling of a large body of troops, and the improve- 
ment of the defences of the city. The design on Antwerp had therefore 
to be abandoned and the forces brought home, but this was not done 
till 7,000 men had perished of the marsh fever. In this year the 
death of Portland opened the way for Mr. Percival to become prime 
minister. 

In 1810 a bond was formed between France and Austria, by the 
marriage of Napoleon to Maria Louisa, Josephine, his first wife, sub- 
mitting to be divorced to open the way. The peace with Austria 
enabled the French emperor to fill the Peninsula with troops, intended 
to drive the British into the sea. Massena, at the head of 80,000 men* 
entered Portugal, and was encountered by Wellington at JBusaco (Sept. 
27) ; in this action the French lost 5,000 men. The British fell back 
within the celebrated lines of Torres Vedras, whither the French could 
not follow; Massena, to save his army from starving, was fore d 
to retreat. In foreign parts, Guadaloupe, Amboyna, Bourbon, and 
the Mauritius were taken by the English. The king in this year 
became permanently insane, and George, prince of Wales, the regent of 
the kingdom. 

In 1811 the success of the English became more striking. The 
French under Victor were defeated by Graham at Barrosa (March 
5), and under Massena by Wellington at Fuentes d'Onoro (May 3). 
A few days later, Beresford defeated Soult at Albuera (May 16), thfc 
most desperate and bloody battle in the whole war; in four hours the 
French lost 8,000 men, and the allies 7,000. In August Batavia capi- 



214 OUTLINES OF ENGLi&E UlSTOBf . 

tulated to the British, and in the next month Java foHowed thp 
example. 

In 1812 Wellington captured Ciudad Rodrigo (Jan. 19) and 
Badajos (April 6), the latter at the expense of 5.000 in killed and 
wounded. Marching into Spain, the English won a great victory at 
Salamanca (July 22) over Marmont : in this battle the French lost 
14,000 m c n. This opened the way to Madrid, but Wellington was 
•gain obliged to retreat, on account of th3 forces gathering against him, 
*nd the little dependence to be placed on the Spanish auxiliaries. 
I'his year was specially memorable for the great expedition which 
Napoleon projected against Russia. With such an army as Europe 
had never seen before, the emperor set out and crossed the Niemen 
m June. After defeating the Russians at Smolensk and at Borodino 
(Sept. 7), in the latter battle nearly 100,000 men fell, the French 
entered Moscow, but in a few days it became evident that the Russian' 
had fired the city. As nine-tenths of Moscow were destroyed by thi 
flames, the French were under the necessity of commencing a disastrous 
retreat. Thousands perished of cold and hunger, and more by the 
hands of the Russian troops which hung upon their flanks ; in this 
memorable expedition there perished of the French forces nearly half 
a million of men. In England, Lord Liverpool became prime 
minister, Perceval having been assassinated by a discontented man. 
The war with America which commenced this year will be noticed 
separately. 

In 1813 commenced what is called the Resurrection of Germany. 
Russia combined with Prussia and Sweden, and the Hanse towns joined 
them, but Napoleon beat their forces at Lutzen (May 2), when the allies 
lost 15,000 men, the French 13.000. Subsequently the Austrians joined 
•he coalition, and the French were decisively beaten at Leipsic (Oct. 16), 
the allies losing 42,000 men, the French 60,000. In the Peninsula, 
Wellington won the battle of Yittoria (June 21), and defeated Soult in 
the battles of the Pyrenees in July. St. Sebastian and Pampeluna now 
fell to the English. In October, Wellington carried his army into 
France, and defeated Soult at the Nivelle. 

In 1814 Wellington defeated the French at Ortkes (Feb. 27) and at 
Toulouse (April 10). The allied armies from Germany having entered 
France alter more than one battle out- manoeuvred Napoleon and 
obtamed possession of Paris. The emperor navmg abdicated and 
retired to the island of Elba, the Bourbon king, Louis XVIII., took the 
throne. A treaty was concluded (May 30), known as the first treaty 
of Paris, and a congress opened at Vienna (Nov. 3) for settling the 
details. 

In ] 815 the rejoicingf of Europe were fated to be disturbed. Na- 
poleon, believing that the Bourbons were still unpopular with the 
French, made his escape, and landing in France (March 1), was every- 
where received with acclamations. The troops passed over to him, and 
Louis left the kingdom. A great coalition was immediately formed, and 
troops gathered on the northern frontier ; against these Napoleon resolved 
io strike toe first blow. The Prussians under Blucher were defeated at 
Zdgny (Jure 16) ; the same day Wellington defeated marshal Ney 
at Quatre-Bras. On hearing of the defeat of the Prussians, the 
Snglish fell back to Waterloo, whither they were followed by Napoleon. 
Battle was given (June 18), and victory rested with the allies, thr' .<jb 



ttEORGR III. 215 

Wellington had only 50,000 men on whom he could rely, the French 
80,000; the Prussians, however, came to his aid late in the day. The 
ioss of the French in the battle and pursuit amounted to 40,000 men, of 
Wellington's army 15,000, and of the Prussians 7,000. Finding the 
day was lost, Bonaparte fled to Paris, and finding his person unsafe, 
made his way thence to Rochefort, and gave himself up to the captam 
of an English ship of war. By arrangement of the allies the fallen 
^mperor was sent as a state prisoner to St. Helena, where he died in 
1821. This fresh outbreak of the French nation led to the second treat/ 
if Paris. 

The results of this long war, so far as they were embodied in 
treaties, may be thus stated : — by the first treaty of Paris (181 4) 
't was agreed that France should be reduced to her limits in 
1792, but to retain Avignon and the Venaisin : that of the ships 
of war at Antwerp, two-thirds should be restored to France, and 
one-third to Holland : that England should retain Malta, Tobago, 
St. Lucia, and the Isle of France, but restore all the other colonies 
taken from France or her allies ; and that all subordinate points 
be referred to a general congress to meet at Vienna. 

By the second treaty of Paris (1815) it was agreed that 
France should be reduced to her limits in 1790 : that she should 
pay £28,000,000 to the allied powers for the expenses of the 
war : that she should maintain 150,000 of the allied army in the 
frontier fortresses of France for five years : that she should com- 
pensate the different powers for the spoliation inflicted upoc 
them. Moreover the continental allies insisted upon the resto 
ration of all the works of art, &c, of which the different powers 
had been plundered by France. 

By the congress of Vienna (1814-5) it was agreed that Hol- 
land and Belgium be united into one kingdom : that Norway be 
given to Sweden in compensation for Pomerania, which country 
was given to Denmark as an equivalent for Norway : that Han- 
over, increased by a part of Westphalia. be declared a kingdom, 
and be restored to England : tnat Switzerland be declared inde- 
pendent, and the cantons put on an equal footing : that the 
duchy of Warsaw be ceded to Russia, a part of Saxony to Prussia : 
that Lombardy bf it-stored to Austria, and Savoy, Nice, and 
Genoa go to Piedmont : that Parma and Placentia go to Maria 
Louisa ; and that Holland should cede to England the Cape, 
Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice, receiving from England the 
colony of Java. 

IX. War with the United States of America. 1812-14. 
Hostilities with America originated in the auarrel between 
Napo.eon and Enplane in the matter of oommer^ In a spirit 
of retaliation against the Berlin decrees, an order in council *p. 
paarea (ItfUl* aecianng ail vessel good prises pound to the 



216 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTOftf. 

ports of France or to the States under her sway, unless they had 
first toucned at, or cleared out from, a British harbour. Between 
the French decrees and the English orders in council, the trade 
of neutrals was nearly destroyed, and the Americans, the only 
great neutral carriers, felt so much aggrieved that in 1809 they 
stopped all intercourse with France and Britain. But the 
principal ground of complaint was the right of search exercised 
by our ships of war for the discovery of English seamen serving 
on board American vessels. War was declared against England, 
June 18, 1812. 

In 1813 the Americans captured York (now Toronto), the 
capital of Upper Canada, and the British squadron on Lake Erie. 
In 1814 the Americanu made an unsuccessful atttempt to reduce 
Canada, and were defeated at Chippewa. An English force 
captured Washington, and destroyed its dockyard and arsenal, 
but subsequently suffered defeat in an attack on Baltimore. Id 
1815 the British suffered a severe repulse at New Orleans (Jan. 8) : 
this battle was fought before the news of peace had arrived. 
The war with America was more distinguished by sea than by 
land, for we met with defeat on our own element, by reason of 
the enemy's sending out ships with more powerful batteries than 
had been known before. When the English had built ships to 
match, our superiority again appeared. In the celebrated duel 
between the Shannon and the Chesapeak, the latter, although 
superior in weight of metal and number of men, was nevertheless 
beaten in fifteen minutes, in presence of the people of Boston. 

The war with America closed with the Treaty of Ghent (1814), 
by which it was agreed that there should be a mutual restoration 
of conquests ; and that tne border line in the north should be 
determined by commissioners appointed by both parties. In 
this treaty the Americans tacitly abandoned their resistance to 
the "right of search," in making no claim for compeusation on 
account of the captures made by the English. 

The period of these long wars (1793 — 1815) was marked b) 
much internal disquiet and suffering in England. Not a few 
persons became Jacobinical in their views, and the government 
found it necessary repeatedly to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act. 
The decrees of Napoleon against our commerce proved injurious, 
and what with the heavy burdens of taxation and the high price 
of food, there were some years in which the distress in this 
country was greater than had been known for centuries. And 
after the war was over, the distress for a few years was greater 
than before, for wheat rose to 100s. a quarter, and food riots 
became general. Moreover the nation was Lurdened with au 



3K0RGE III. 217 

Rdditiona'. debt of £630,000,000, the cost to this country of the 
first French Revolution. 

X. Indian Affairs. 

At the commencement of the year 1760, Lally, the French 
governor-general in India, after some slight success, met with de- 
feat at the hands of colonel Coote, at Wandewash: this broke the 
French power in the Carnatic. In Bengal, the nabob, being dis- 
pleased with the English, first massacred our countrymen at 
ratna, and then brought upon us an army of 50,000 men ; it was, 
however, defeated by major Munro, at Buxar (1764). Clive, who 
had now returned to India, concluded a treaty at Allahabad 
(1765) with Shah Alum the mogul, by which the Company ob- 
tained the sovereignty of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, undertaking 
at the same time to pay the mogul a handsome pension. A two 
years' war with Hyder Ali, rajah of Mysore, ended in 1767 
without any advantage to the English. In 1773, Warren 
Hastings became the first governor-general of the English pos- 
sessions in India, a post he retained for thirteen years, with much 
profit to the company, though not without scandal to himself. 
Having a quarrel with the Company, Hyder Ali commenced a 
6econd war, and in 1780 burst into the Carnatic with 90,000 
men, and brought the British empire in Southern India to the 
verge of ruin. Sir Eyre Coote, however, routed his army, and 
his fleet was destroyed by Admiral Hughes. Hyder dying was 
succeeded by his son Tippoo Saib, who concluded an advanta- 
geous peace with the English. 

At home, Fox introduced in 1783 a bill for the better conduct 
of Indian affairs, on the ground that the Company was in- 
competent to manage them ; it, however, failed. Pitt in the next 
year was more successful, for a bill passed erecting a Board of 
Control with powers extending over the general concerns of the 
Company ; it provided further for the introduction of some new 
regulations in India. Warren Hastings, having committed some 
tyrannical acts in his government, was recalled and subjected 
to a prosecution, which extended over seven years (1788 — 1795); 
at the end of that period he was acquitted. 

A difference between Tippoo Saib and the raj ah of Travancore, 
an ally of the British, led to hostilities in 1789, but after the 
English had captured Bangalore and threatened Seringapatam, 
Tippoo's capital, he submitted, and by treaty (1792) gave up to the 
Company 24,000 square miles of territory. After the commence- 
ment of the French Revolution, Tippoo entered into alliance with 
the republicans of France, to annihilate British power in India, 
The war ended in the capture of Seringapatam (1799) and the 

P 



218 OUTLINES OF F 7GLISH HISTORY. 

death of Tippoo ; colonel Wellesley became the governor of tlie 
captured city and the Mysore district. In 1802 the Mahratta 
chiefs confederated against us, Wellesley took the field and gave 
them a severe defeat at Assaye (1803): this was the first great 
victory won by that remarkable man. The Mahrattas gave in 
in 1805. From this time the Mogul became the pensioner of the 
Company, and there were added to our territories Delhi, Agra, 
and other districts. A war with the Glioorkhas in 1814 brought 
to the Company an additional territory of 12,000 square miles, 
and another in 1817 against the Pindarees and Mahrattas, 
nearly 60,000. 

Miscellaneous Facts. The right of petitioning the king waa 
established by the Bill of Rights, but it was not till the ministry oi 
lord North that the right and practice of petitioning parliament 
were fully established. The practice of holding public meetings to 
discuss questions of public interest and get up petitions began in 
1769, in connexion with the affairs of the notorious John Wilkes. 
Whether slavery was legal in England, was brought to an issue by 
Granville Sharp, in this way. Finding a negro dying in the streets 
of London, he removed him to an hospital, and when cured provided 
him with employment. Shortly after, hearing that he was imprisoned 
as a runaway slave, Sharp appealed to the lord mayor, who gave the 
negro his liberty. His master, however, seized him, and Sharp ap- 
pealing to the superior tribunal, the judges declared (1772) that the 
master had no claim, and that slavery could not exist in England. 

In 1781, Raikes, a printer of Gloucester, began his first Sunday 
school. This class of schools received the early patronage of several 
prelates and other persons of influence, and rapidly increasing in 
numbers, did much good at a time when day schools were but tew. 
In 1811 was founded the National School Society for promoting the 
system of mutual instruction, introduced into this country by the 
Rev. Dr. Bell ; about the same time the British and Foreign School 
Society was established tor a similar purpose. Other institutions, 
having for their object the moral improvement of the people, grew 
up ; such were the Religious Tract Society (1799), Church Missionary 
Society (1800), and the Bible Society (1804). 

During the long war with France the Barbary States committed 
great depredations, and even attacked the English flag. As some- 
thing was necessary to be done, lord Exmouth proposed to them »i 
treaty prohibiting making slaves, and securing to prisoners of war <:h* 
same treatment as in Europe. The Dey of Algiers refusing to comply, 
the English fleet, aided by a Dutch squadron, bombarded his capital 
with great fury (1816). This brought the Dey to terms, by which 
he agreed to abolish Christian slavery, to deliver up about 1,100 slaves 
then in his keeping, and to make a public apology to the English 
consul whom he had insulted. 

Cheoniclb. 1765, Watt makes his first improvement in the 
Jteam-engine. 1767, The spinning-jenny invented by Hargreaves, 
and the spinning-frame by Arkwright. 1770, Captain Cook discover? 
Botany Bay. 1776, The mule-jenny invented by Crompton. 1778 
The Sandvich Islands discovered hy Cook, who V7as killed at Owyh*> 



GEORGE IV. 219 

in tine next year. 1783, The first balloon makes its ascent from Paris. 
1784, Mail coaches first begin to run. 1785, The power-loom in- 
vented by Cartwright. Steam first applied to cotton-spinning. 1788 
First settlement of the English in Australia, at Botany Bay. 1792, 
First application of coal ga3 to the purposes of illumination. 1796, 
Vaccination introduced by Dr. Jenner. 1800, The Voltaic or gal- 
vanic pile invented by Volta of Pavia. 1801, First act of parliament 
for a railroad — between Wandsworth and Croydon. 1802, A steam- 
boat tried upon the Clyde. 1804, The locomotive steam-engine first 
tried on the railroad at Merthyr Tydvil. 1807, Gas first used in the 
streets of London. 1810, First regularly organized savings-bank 
instituted. 1811, The Luddites destroy machinery in Nottingham 
and other places. Trading in slaves made a punishable offence. 1812, 
Stnamboat begins to ply on the Clyde, the first in Europe. 1814, 
•Sream applied to printing in the " Times " office. 1815, The first 
steamboat appears on the Thames. 

GEORGE IV. 1820-1830. 

Royal Family. George IV. (1762—1830) was the eldest son of 
George III. and Charlotte Sophia. Though early advanced to honours 
f,ud appointments, his parent kept him in a state of pupilage and 
exclusion till he was nearly eighteen. From the time of his ap- 
pearance in public he threw off all restraint, consorted with fashion- 
able and gay companions, and indulged himself in various kinds of 
extravagance and dissipation. On more than one occasion the 
parliament was called upon to clear off the pecuniary difficulties of 
this unthrifty prmce. The attack of insanity which visited his 
parent in 1810 led to his being appointed Prince Begent, so that from 
that period he was virtually king. It is said of George IV. that he 
had an amiable disposition, a highly cultivated mind, and the most 
perfect manners, but it is no less true that he was profligate, and 
capable of great unkindness, and that he left behind him a name as 
disreputable as that of his father was the contrary. 

The wife of George IV. was Caroline (1768—1821), the daughter of 
Charles, duke of Brunswick, and Augusta, the sister of George III. 
She is spoken of as a spoilt child, full of life, not wanting in ready 
wit, but thoroughly deficient in judgment. Her marriage to the 
Prince of Wales took place in 1795, and was to her the commence- 
ment of many sorrows. The young pair soon quarrelled, and the birth 
of a child (1796) brought no return of affection. After living undei 
the same roof some months longer without speaking to each other, 
Caroline retired, first to Charlton and then to Blackheath. Charged 
with impropriety of conduct, a royal commission issued in 1806 to 
inquire into the allegations ; she was acquitted of the main charges, 
though deemed guilty of conduct unbecoming her station. In 1815 
she left England, and resided for the next few years on the continent, 
giving during this period additional evidence of her want of a proper 
use of self-respect. On the accession of her husband she returned 
to England to claim her rights as queen ; this was met by a bill of 
pains and penalties, which, however, the ministers thought it expe- 
dient to abandon. Failing to force her way into the coronation, 
she fell ill and in a fow da js died. Her body was conveyed to Bruns- 
wick for interment. 



220 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY 

The famtty of George IV. consisted of but one child, the princess 
Charlotte, born 1796, married to Leopold of Saxe-Coburg in 1816, asao 
died to the general grief of the nation in 1817. 

I. Distress of the Nation. 

From the time of the peace in 1815 there had been much de- 
rangement of trade. Many who had been employed in connection 
with providing warlike materials found their occupation gone, 
and others, who had been engaged in European commerce, ex- 
perienced considerable diminution when England had no longer 
exclusive possession of the seas. Heavy taxation continued, 
which, with some unfavourable harvests, brought great distress 
upon the working classes. Bread rose to double the average rate, 
and the people were easily persuaded that nothing would improve 
their position but a radical reform in the representation. In the 
first year of the reign, Thistlewood and others entered into a 
scheme to assassinate the cabinet ministers, and establish a new 
government. Fortunately, the Cato Street conspiracy, for so it 
was named, became known to the authorities, and the parties 
being seized, some of them suffered the extreme penalty. 

Things were scarcely quieted, when great distress arose from 
another source. Mr. Canning, who came into the ministry in 
1822, was instrumental in introducing several liberal measures in 
connection with commerce, and in recognising the independence 
of the South American States. A new impulse was thus given, 
and capital, of which there was an abundance, soon invested in 
various speculations, among which mining operations in the 
newly recognised American States stood conspicuous. Towards 
the latter end of 1825, it became evident that the speculations 
were unsound, and that there had been much over-trading. A re- 
action set in, numbers of banks closed, merchants became insol- 
vent, artisans were unemployed, and general distress prevailed 
throughout the kingdom. This greatly increased towards the 
close of the reign, and in many places families were reduced to 
starvation. Riots occurred in which rnachkiery was destroyed, 
and again advantage was taken of the general distress, to persuade 
the people there could be no remedy but in a reformation of the 
representative system. Unions to obtain this change began to 
be formed just as the reign was closing. 

II. Concessions to the Dissenters. 

The resignation of lord Goderich opened the way for the duke 
of Wellington to become prime minister. As the duke waa 
kruwn to be the enemy of all concession, he was received with 
little favour by the Catholic Association, whose main purpose i/; 



GEORGE IV. 221 

organization Had been to obtain the removal of those disabilities 
under which the catholic dissenters laboured. The whigs, now ir 
opposition, befriended the Catholics, <ind in 1828 through theh 
exertions the Test and Corporation acts of Charles II. were both 
repealed. As these acts affected the protestant, more than the 
catholic dissenters, it was thought that the interest of the forme r 
would be secured against further concessions to papists. Such, 
however, was not the result, and the ministry found itself unablf 
to stand up against the pressure brought to bear on this question. 
For Daniel O'Connell, the great mouth piece of the Catholics, 
had been returned for Clare, and to refuse him a seat in the house 
would, it was thought, bring about a rebellion. Hence, when the 
session of 1829 opened, it was announced that the government 
was about to bring forward a Roman Catholic Relief Bill. The 
whole country was moved, Protestant meetings were held, and it 
appeared as though we were about to enter upon a religious war. 
The bill, however, passed, and received a reluctant assent from the 
sovereign. The Catholic Relief Bill (1829) proposed to abolish 
the disabilities under which that body laboured, and thus admit 
them to equal civil rights. Certain exceptional clauses disqualified 
Roman Catholics from holding the offices of lord lieutenant, of 
lord chancellor, or keeper of the great seal ; from appointments 
in protestant universities or colleges : from exercising any right 
of presentation, as lay patrons, to the benefices and dignities of 
the Church of England. An oath also was to be exacted from 
all who should become members of parliament, civil officers of 
state, or members of corporations, by which they were to promise 
allegiance to the crown, as well as to abjure every design of sub- 
verting t*he protestant establishment in church and state. 

III. Foreign Affairs. 

Considerable uneasiness was occasioned in the early part of this 
reign by the state of the continent. The war of the French Re- 
volution had spread everywhere notions unfavourable to the old 
monarchies, and men with arms in their hands were not easy to 
be withstood. It was a proof of wisdom in the government of 
this country, that it was not to be tempted to interfere in the 
concerns of other nations. 

In the East, however, we were compelled to take up arms against 
the Burmese, on account of their aggressions on the frontiers of 
Bengal. The war was of short duration (1824— 1826), and ended 
in the cession to the Company of 80,000 square miles in the pro- 
vinces of Arracan, Yeh, Tavoy, Mergui, and Tenasserim, and i 
pledge to renounce all claims on Assam and its dependencies. 

From 1821 the Greeks had been at war with the Turks their 



T22 OUTLINES CF KNGLISH HISTORY. 

master ; it was, indeed, a struggle on the part of the former for 
their political independence. But continued hostilities gave in- 
terruption to the commerce of the Levant, and there was also 
some suspicion of Russian interference. A combined fleet, there- 
fore, consisting of English, French, and Russians, was sent into 
the Mediterranean, to protect our commerce and to afford some 
countenance to the Greeks. The pasha of Egypt entered into 
the quarrel, and sent a fleet of 90 ships to the aid of his nominal 
sovereign. Sir Edward Codrington, in command of the combined 
fleet, had orders to prevent the junction of the Egyptians with 
the Turks. They, however, were found together in the bay of 
Navarin®, upon which Codrington, unable to bring them to terms-, 
led in his fleet and nearly destroyed the enemy (1827). This was 
rather more than Sir Edward had instructions to do, it was there- 
fore termed an "untoward event," and led to the breaking down 
of Goderich's ministry, and what was more important, the inde- 
pendence of Greece. 

Miscellaneous Facts. In this reign, principally through the 
influence of Mr. Huskisson, our navigation laws were modified, so as 
to place the intercourse of all European countries, at peace with 
England, on the same footing. The shipowners 'oudly complained, 
and predicted the ruin of the country, but the results have not vet 
fulfilled the prophecy. An attempt made by Mr. liuxton to obtain 
from parliament a declaration that slavery was repugnant to the 
British constitution, failed through the opposition of Canning, who 
preferred trying to improve the slave population. The news of this 
failure disturbed the negroes in Demerara, by reason of their mis- 
understanding its cause; some indeed said that they had been pur- 
posely misinformed by the missionaries, one of whom was actually 
condemned to be hanged, on the charge of being a party to the rising 
of the blacks. The insurrection was put down after about 100 slaves 
had been shot. 

Chronicle. 1822, Foundation of the London Mechanics' Insti- 
tution by Dr. Birkbeck. 1823, System of free trade commenced in 
England by Huskisson. The ancient custom of burying persons who 
had committed felo-de-se in cross roads with a stake driven through 
their bodies, abolished. 1825, First stone of the Thames tunnel laid. 
First steam voyage to India. 1828, London University opened. 
1829, Act for improving the police, in and near the metropolis, brought 
in by Sir Bcbert Feel. 1830, Forgery no longer to be punishabk 
with death. 

WILLIAM IV. 1830-1837. 

Royal *AM2LY. William IV. (1765— 1837) was the fourth son of 
G&orge III. As he was a younger son^ he entered the navy in his 
fourteenth year, and was in the fleet under Rodney sent out to relieve 
Gibraltar. On the way they had the good fortune to make several 
prizes, ar»I to gain a battle, which put some Spanish ships of war into 
their hands. After serving in several ships, he paesed the uruai ex- 



WILLIAM IV 223 

oaiination for lieutenant in 1785 ; having served a year in that capacity 
he received his commission as captain. For leaving his station ai 
Jamaica in 1787 without orders, the prince was put under restraint, 
and then made to return to the place he had left, and there to remain 
till ordered home. In 1789 he was created duKe of Clarence, and 
the next year promoted to be a rear-admiral, but from this time he 
duw no servk^e. During Canning's premiership the duke held the 
p'-'St of lordhigh admiral for a short time. William was much more 
popular than his predecessor had been, which is easily accounted for 
by the difference in the schools in which they were trained. His 
frank good nature, so characteristic of his profession as a British 
tailor, won for him popular esteem, and the title of "the Sailor 
King." 

The consort of William was Adelaide (1792 — 1849), daughter of 
George, duke of Saxe Meinin<?en. The death of her father when 
she was eleven years of age led to her being educated \u the strictest 
privacy, and with much attention to the observances of religion ; the 
character of her education gave a tone to her whole life. In youth 
she avoided ordinary amusements, and co-operated with her sister in 
the establishment of schools for the poor, and in the relief of the 
needy. The fame of her virtues recommended her to Queen Charlotte, 
and led to her marriage with William, duke of Clarence, in 1818. 
Her health proved infirm, and for its restoration she and her husband 
resided partly on the continent. On the accession of William to the 
throne the parliament voted £100,000 to his queen, in the event of 
her surviving him, together with Bushy and Marlborough House as 
her residences for life. During her short reign, the court of England 
was a model of purity, and her virtues the theme of general respect. 
In the last illness of the king she was scarcely ever absent from the 
sick chamber, and for twelve days did not take off her clothes. After 
the death of her husband her life was one of retirement, illustrated 
by innumerable acts of beneficence. Adelaide died at Bentley Priory, 
and was interred in St. George's Chapel, Windsor. 

The children of William by Adelaide were two, but they both died 
in infancy. By a previous marriage, which, however, was not accounted 
)egal, he left several children — the Fitzclarences. 

I. The Reform Bill. 1832. 

For many years there had been a growing opinion that some 
change was necessary in the representative system. Even so far 
back as the time of the Commonwealth reforms were made, but 
they soon fell through. In 1782 the younger Pitt attempted to 
introduce a measure for a moderate but substantial reform, in 
this part of our constitution. And after the outbreak of the 
French revolution the demand for change much increased, and 
was urged by men of respectability and influence, as well as by 
tfild theorists. From the close of the war there had been un- 
doubted distress, and advantage was taken of it, to urge on the 
people the reform question, as the only means of removing all the 
erils which the country then laboured under. Concessions hr%d 



224 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

been won by the catholics, who had made a show of determina- 
tion ; a like result it was thought would follow, if reform were 
demanded with equal energy. It so happened that immediately 
upon the accession of William, a second revolution took place 
in France, having for its object the securing fuller liberty to 
the French people ; this was followed by a similar movement 
in Belgium. These two events were not without their influence 
in England ; and when Wellington avowed his intention to resist 
all changes in the constitution of parliament, there arose so 
strong an opposition to the government that the duke resigned i 
aad was succeeded by earl Grey. 

The whig ministry, pledged to a reform in parliament, Lad no 
difficulty in making out a case of necessity. It was shown that 
there was a changed distribution of the people, so that whilst 
places without inhabitants returned members, others which had 
grown up in the manufacturing districts returned none, though 
possessinglarge populations. In 1831 Lord John Russell brought 
in a bill to amend the representation of England and Wales ; 
after a heavy battle in the house, it was found that the two 
parties were pretty equally balanced. The parliament was there- 
fore dissolved to take the sense of the country. A majority 
being returned in its favour, it passed the Commons but was re- 
jected by the peers. Alarming riots now broke out in different 
parts of the country, in which lives were lost and property de- 
stroyed. In 1832 the bill was allowed to become law. The 
reform consisted in disfranchising 56 boroughs altogether, in re- 
ducing 30 to one member instead of two, and in other reductions ; 
the members tLus made disposable were distributed in this way, 
65 to the counties, 22 to newly created boroughs each taking two 
members, and the remainder to new borougtis, each to return 
one member. To enlarge the number of voters, tenants of lands 
with a rental of £50 a year received a vote for the county, and 
ten-pound householders a vote for the borough. Similar aces 
passed in the same year for Scotland and Ireland. 

II. Measures of the Reformed Parliament. 

The first session of the reformed parliament (1833) was marked 
by several important measures. A bill passed improving the 
Irish church, by a new arrangement of its revenues, and the abo- 
lition of ten bishoprics. The charter of the Bank of England 
was renewed on terms advantageous to the public. The trade 
to India and China, hitherto monopolized by the East India 
Company, was thrown open to private enterprise. A grant was 
made of £20,000 for educational purposes. But *he great mea- 
sure of the session was one providing for the entire abolition of 



WILLIAM IV. f 225 

slavery, and granting as compensation to the owners the sum of 
£20,000,000. 

In the second session ^i834) a poor-law bill swept away the 
old system of granting relief to paupers, which, by offering <i 
premium to indolence and vice, had done much to destroy all 
habits of thrift and forethought in the peasantry, besides de- 
moralizing them to an extent scarcely credible. By the new 
bill out-door relief was nearly stopped, and the local overseers 
kept up to their proper functions by a central board in London. 
In this year lord Grey retired, and viscount Melbourne became 
the head of the ministry. 

The third session (1835) produced the Municipal Act, whicn 
broke up the little cliques that had mismanaged the corporation 
business of boroughs, and had disposed of their many charities 
after so modest a fashion, that few knew what became of them. 
This Act proposed to terminate these abuses by enlarging the 
constituencies and securing the popular election of officers ; it 
also provided that non -corporate towns might obtain charters 
of incorporation by petition to the privy council. 

Thefourth session (1836) produced several important measures. 
Such were the Tithe Commutation Act, by which tithes became 
henceforth a rent charge, varying according to the average price 
of corn ; and the rearrangement of the dioceses of the church of 
England, together with the erection of two new bishoprics, Ripon 
and Manchester. By other bills, the stamp duty on newspapers 
was reduced ; marriage, to those who chose so to consider it, was 
made a civil contract, still leaving it to the parties to be married 
at church or chapel if they pleased ; and provision was made for 
establishing a general registration of births, deaths, and marriages. 

II. Foreign affairs. 

The revolution which occurred in Belgium led to the offer of 
Us crown to Leopold, the widower of princess Charlotte of 
Wales, but the Dutch were not disposed to give up so fine * 
province without a struggle. England interfered in the question 
m alliance with the new government of France, a large fleet was 
3 ollected in the Downs and the ports of Holland blockaded. The 
French operated by land, and bombarded Antwerp into surrender 
(Dec. 1832), it was then handed over to the Belgian authorities. 
Civil war broke out in Spain and Portugal, but the government 
interfered no further than to permit English subjects to volunteer 
for the service of these states. 

Miscellaneous Facts. Towards the end of 1831, the cLolpra 
morbus made its appearance in this country at Sunderland Appetising 



226 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

first in 1817 on the banks of the Gang-es, this terrible scourge had 
gradually advanced till it reached our shores. Its ravages for a time 
were confined to constitution^ weakened by vice or intemperance, 
afterwards it attacked all persons irrespect vely. Although it slew its 
thousands, it was less fatal in England tkan in any other country it had 
visited. In 1834, were destroyed both he uses of parliament, the 
catastrophe happened through negligence in burning the exchequer 
tallies in an adjoining building. 

Chronicle. 1830, Liverpool and Manchester railroad opened, on 
which occasion Huskisson was killed. 1831, The new London bridge 
opened by the king. 1833, First admission of Quakers into parliament. 
Act passed to regulate the labour of young people in mills and factories. 
Opening of the trade to China and India to all British subjects. 1834, 
South Australia colonised by the English. 1836, The palatine 
jurisdiction of Durham vested in the crown. British Association 
fur the advancement of Science holds its first meeting at Bristol. 

VICTORIA. 1837- 

Royal Family, Her most gracious majesty Alexandria Victoria 
v/as the only child of Edward duke of Kent, the brother of the last 
monarch, and of Maria Louisa Victoria, the daughter of Francis, 
duke of Saxe-Coburg Saalfield. Her birth took place at Kensington 
Palace, May 24, 1819; eight months later her father died. "From 
the earliest age the young princess was taught to seek health by 
exercise and temperance ; to acquire fearlessness even from her amuse- 
ments, such as riding and sailing-, to practise a wise economy united to 
a discriminating charity; to cultivate a self-reliance that should render 
her independent of and superior to mere favourites and flatterers. As 
she advanced in years, her intellectual development was provided for 
with equal care, under the additional superintendence of the duchoss 
of Northumberland. A knowledge of music, languages, and some 
science, especially botany, was imparted to her ; and her father having 
during the latter years of his life belonged to the whig party, her 
political instruction was chiefly derived from that source, and viscount 
Melbourne has the credit of grounding her thoroughly in the principles 
of the British constitution." On February 10, 1840, the Queen 
married her cousin Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel, the 
second son of Ernest, duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. 

In her private life Queen Victoria has uniformly practised the 
virtues inculcated in her childhood. She has always displayed a 
considerate kindness, her name appearing as a contributor to every 
beneficent project; a wise economy alike removed from meanness and 
extravagance; a love for the beauties of nature, as shown by her 
selection of her residence at Osborne, in the Isle of "Wight, and of 
Balmoral, in the Highlands of Scotland, and by her repeated ex- 
cursions by land and sea, to visit the most remarkable 6pots of her 
kingdom, as well as those of others; and of her patronage ©f the fine 
kud industrial arts." 

The children of her Majesty are: — Victoria 1840, married in 1858 
do Dlinoe Frederick of Prussia: Albert, prince of Wales, 1841; Alice 
18*3; Alfred, 1844; Helena, 1846; Louisa, 1848; Arthur, I860 
Leopold, 1853 nnd Beatrice. 1857. 



VICTORIA. 227 



1. Disturbances by the Chartists and others. 

f he Reform Bill, which many deemed too great a concession, 
Was thought by others not to have gone far enough. A party of 
nolent men grew up in the country, who obtained the name of 
Chartists, because of their demanding a people's charter, which 
should embrace the " six points" — annual parliaments, vote by 
oallot, universal suffrage, electoral districts, abolition of the 
.members' property qualification, and the payment of representa- 
tives. This party soon raised against itself universal hate, not 
do much because they sought to obtain the six points, in which 
indeed some respectable individuals went with them, but because 
they took to night meetings and cruel outrages, and sought to 
force their opinions on the country by revolutionary methods. 
Outbreaks took place in the early part of the reign, and several 
lives were lost, but active measures being taken against them, 
they were soon cowed and for a while tolerably quiet. But the 
third French revolution in 1848 raised them from their torpor, 
and with Feargus O'Connor as their head, they expected by a 
monster meeting to frighten the government into concession 
Some 20,000 met on Kennington Common, with the purpose of 
walking in procession to Westminster to present a petition, said, 
by way of fiction, to contain 5,000,000 signatures. London was 
undoubtedly alarmed,f or all business was suspended, and 200,000 
special constables sworn in (Napoleon the Third, emperor of 
France, was one), besides bodies of military placed out of sight 
in various neighbouring building!:., The preparations made secured 
their purpose, for the mob was swed into pretty good behaviour. 

In 1843, South Wales was d-iaturbed by rioters calling them- 
selves u Rebecca and her daughters," their object being the 
destruction of toll-gates, which it was said were oppressive in 
their exactions. After destroyir. * nearly all the gates, and doing 
other kinds of mischief, the mo/ement was put down. 

II. 0'Connell and ths Repeal of the Union. 

It was expected that the Catholic Belief Bill passed in 1829 
would give peace to Ireland. It did not, however, prove so, for 
an association was next formed to bring back the Irish parliament 
to College Green. In 1843 the agitation became formidable 
from the adhesion of the catholic priests and many of the respect- 
able classes of the community. Monster meetings were held : at 
one on the hill of Tara, O'Connell solemnly pledged himself tc 
have an Irish parliament before the end of the year. Another 



c 228 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

meeting was called to meet at Clontarf, but the governmeDt 
interfered, and by proclamation forbade such gatherings. Tho 
leader and others were shortly after proceeded against for con- 
spiracy and sedition, and adjudged to fines and imprisonment 
An appeal being made to the house of Lords, the sentence was 
annulled on a technical point. From this time O'Connell became 
quiet, but a new movement was made by a party called " Young 
Ireland ;" it was not, however, till that year of intense excitement 
(1848) that it grew into a rebellion. It was soon crushed, and 
Mitchell and other leaders sent into penal servitude. 

III. Removal of trade restrictions. 

For several years there had been a growing conviction that 
trade was suffering from too many restrictions. As these 
opinions progressed out of doors, they pressed themselves upon 
the parliament, and after the formation of a new ministry in 
1841, under Sir Robert Peel, a series of measures passed for 
giving greater advantages to our manufacturing and commercial 
industry. First came a measure modifying the corn laws, and 
then in 1846 a bill repealing them altogether. A new tariff 
brought a reduction of duty on about 750 articles, but to make 
up deficiencies, the middle and upper classes were saddled with 
an income tax. Another important measure was the repeal in 
1849 of the navigation laws, which had been supposed for two 
centuries to lie at the very foundation of the nation's prosperity. 
They kept a large amount of the carrying trade in the hands of 
the English, and thus obliged us to have always an immense 
number of na' ve seamen ; it was, however, argued that the prin- 
ciples of free trade being undoubtedly soiad, England must in 
the long run be compensated for any concessions made to just 
principles. 

Commerce had no sooner revived than a disposition to specu- 
late, particularly in railroads, became apparent. In 1845 this 
grew into a mania, no less than 120 bills for new lines actually 
passed, which was only about one-tenth of the number of 
organized companies. To carry out those authorized by parlia- 
ment required £132,000,000, a sum so large that the moniy 
could not be raised. And this was the more difficult to do just 
then, because of the failure of the potato crops in 1845—46, 
which forced an outlay of many millions for the purchaseof food. 
These two causes made money so scarce that a panic followed, 
and it was not till the end of 1847 that things began to wear a 
brighter aspect. Nor did the improvement come too soon, for 
already had ruin overtaken many bankers and merchants, and as 



VICTORIA. 229 

The result of their fall, large numbers were thrown out oi their 
accustomed employments. 

IV. Rebellion in Canada. 1837. 

As the populations of the two Canadas were of diiferent stocks. 
&erewasawantof cordiality between them; this of late had grown 
nto jealousy, and then into an open quarrel with the authorities. 
<in insurrection followed, so soon as the winter had set in, to pre- 
vent the arrival of troops from home. Both men and military 
stores passed over from the United States in aid of the Canadians, 
till checked by a proclamation from the president, which, how- 
ever, was not of sufficient force to put a stop to it altogether. 
Still with the troops stationed in the colony and the loyal sub- 
jects of the Upper Province, the insurrection was eventually put 
down. For the greater security and quiet of this important 
colony, the two provinces were united into one, and the 6eat of 
government removed from Quebec to Montreal. 

V. War in Syria. 1840. 

This war was undertaken to support the declining fortunes of 
Turkey, whose vassal Mehemet Ali, the pacha of Egypt, had 
thrown off his allegiance, and by his success in Asiatic Turkey, 
seemed as though he were about to overthrow his master. As it 
was thought undesirable that Turkey should be further weakened, 
the great powers, France excepted, agreed to unite in forcing the 
pacha to come to terms. On bis refusing to listen to any arrange- 
ment, commodore Napier took or destroyed the principal ports 
in the west of Syria ; the last nlace attacked was Acre, which 
was all but destroyed in a three'hours' bombardment. Hasten- 
ing thence to Alexandria, the English commander gave Mehemet 
twenty-four hours for consideration ; if at the end of that time 
he still refused terms, the city would be bombarded. The pacha, 
Gnding that French help had failed him, consented to recall his 
son Ibrahim and evacuate Syria, and to give up the Turkish fleet. 
On the other side it was promised him that Egypt should be 
his, and the title of pacha hereditary in his family. 

VI. Indian affairs. 

Both the East India Company and private traders had made large 
gains by smuggling opium into China, an article which the Chinese 
authorities prohibited, as well for its demoralizing iuliuence as for 



23U OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

the drain of specie which it occasioned. In 1838 the Chines* 
government, resolving upon vigorous measures to suppress thia 
contraband trade, compelled the superintendent of our affairs, 
captain Eiliot, to deliver up more than 20,000 chests of opium to 
be destroyed. The captain having remonstrated was sent to 
prison, and tho English merchants threatened with expulsion. 
For this outrage the English government demanded satisfaction, 
and on its being refused declared war (1840) against the celestials. 
A large naval and military force moved from Calcutta, and after 
several towns had been taken, terms of peace were dictated by Sir 
Henry Pottinger, under the walls of Nankin (1842). By treaty 
the Chinese agreed to pay 21,000,000 dollars for the expenses 
of the war, and 6,000,000 as compensation for the property 
destroyed ; to cede Hong Kong to the English : to reopen 
commerce on its former footing, and to open four other ports 
besides Canton. This war was neither just nor glorious, and 
inflicted indelible disgrace on England. 

In the same year that hostilities ceased with China, a terrible 
disaster befell us, known as the fatal retreat from Cabul. In 
1839 the English had interfered in the affairs of Cabul, so far as 
to dethrone Dost Mohammed because unfriendly to us, in favour 
of Shah Sujah. Ghuznee having fallen, the English nominee was 
placed on the throne, though he had no place in the affections of 
the Affghans, neither did they relish the residence of a large body 
of British troops in the kingdom. In 1841 the country rose in 
rebellion, and the English with their camp followers, together 
numbering nearly 20,000 persons, commenced a retreat. The 
route to Hindostan lay through a chain of mountain passes, and 
in one o+* them Akbar Khan, son of the dethroned monarch, had 
posted himself. General Elphinstone in command set out (Jan. 
6, 1842), the weather at the time being so excessively severe, 
that on the first night's encampment several perished from cold. 
In the Coord Cabul Pass, nearly 3,000 perished, scarcely any 
effort being made to defend themselves, indeed cold and hunger 
had completely destroyed their energies. As the cold grew more 
severe, and the attacks of the enemy more frequent, the fugitives 
wasted away till they had all fallen or become prisoners; one only 
survivor, Dr. Brydon, reached Jellalabad on the 13th of January, 
to tell the tale of this disaster. Lord Ellenborough, who had 
just entered on the office of governor-general, resolved to with- 
draw the troops from Affghanistan, but not till he had punished 
I the people for their treachery. Sale, who had all the while he- 

/oically held Jellalabad, was relieved, and: general Pollock with 
the combined forces moved on to Cabul. Having destroyed tho 
Great bazaar of thai city, and obtained possession of the prisoners. 



VICTORIA. 231 

amongst whom were the wife and daughter of general Sale, ths 
English commenced the evacuation of Afghanistan (Oct. 12). 

No sooner was this affair over than we were at war with the 
Ameers of Scinde, partly because of a suspicion that they hau 
assisted the A Afghans. General Napier defeated their armies and 
took the rich city of Hyderabad (1843); Scinde was annexed to 
the Company's dominions, and Napier appointed governor of the 
province. 

It was not long after, the death of Runjeet Singh having left 
a disputed succession, before we were engaged in a war with the 
Sikhs, a race of fanatics inhabiting Lahore, on the Punjaub. In 
December, 1845, their army crossed the Sutlej, and on the 18th 
was fought the battle of Moodkee, and three days afterwards that 
of Ferozeshah. In January, 1846, they were defeated at Aliwal. 
and again more decidedly at Sobraon (Feb. 10) ; this brought a 
peace on terms dictated by the victors. In 1848 another out- 
break at Moultan led to a renewal of the war, and lord Gough 
fought the indecisive battle of Chillianwallah (Jan. 13, 1849), 
with terrible loss to the English. On February 21 he again 
attacked them at Goojerat, this time with great success. The 
Punjaub was now annexed to the Company's territories. 

VII. Russian War. 1854-1856. 

The policy of Russia for many years had been to encroach on 
the south, hence one province after another passed from the hands 
of Turkey to enrich the potentate of the north. The accession 
of Louis Napoleon, and the little probability of joint action on 
the part of England and France, seemed to Nicholas to offer a 
favourable opportunity to carry forward the policy of his prede- 
cessors. Nor was a pretence wanting on which to ground a 
quarrel with the sultan, for the members of the Greek and Latin 
churches in Palestine had some differences on hand about their 
respective claims to certain holy places. The emperor of Russia, 
as head of the Greek church, demanded the protectorate of the 
Greek Christians in Turkey, this being refused, he ordered his 
forces to cross the Pruth. On this act of aggression the sultan 
declared war (Sept. 27, 1853), and the Russians were defeated at 
Oltenitza ; this success was, however, balanced by the destruction 
of a Turkish fleet at Sinope This conduct on the part of Russia, 
which indeed made no secret of its intention to dismember 
Turkey, induced England and France to declare war against that 
pov/er (March, 1854). 

An allied force under lord Raglan and Marshal St. Arnaud 
g&theredat Varna, whence, after the loss of many man fc v disease 



232 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

the troops crossed over to the Crimea, and landed about twenty 
miles from Sebastopol (Sept. 14). After resting a day or two 
they set out southward. In their progress they came upon the 
Russians under Menschikoff, posted on the south of the rivet 
Alma. The battle of the Alma (Sept. 20) was won by the allies 
after several hours' hard fighting, and the loss of 3,000 men. 
Continuing their march, they passed round Sebastopol, and took 
up their quarters near the harbour of Balaclava, where they were 
attacked (Oct. 25) by Liprandi at the head of 30,000 men. The 
Russians were repulsed, but the most extraordinary part of the 
fciTair was the charge mada by the English light cavalry against 
an entire army ; 670 rode in, of whom only 200 returned unhurt. 
In the next month (Nov. 5) was fought the battle of Inkerman, 
in which the allies lost more than 4,000, the enemy double that 
number. Sebastopol had been under attack since October 17, 
but without much result ; no entrance could be made seaward, 
for the mouth of the harbour was choked by sinking vessels of 
war. I'The large amount of sickness in the camp, and bad manage- 
ment of the hospitals, induced Florence Nightingale and other 
females of respectable station to go to Scutari. There these 
heroic ladies, by their untiring labours and unwearied kindness, 
w r on for themselves a renown which will prove more lasting 
than that of the generals who headed the troops. / In the Baltic, 
Sir Charles Napier did some service in the reduction of Bomarsund, 
(Aug. 15), and in obliging the Russians to keep a considerable 
force in the north of the empire ; but the nation was somewhat 
disappointed that Cronstadt could not be touched. 

In 1855 the Sardinian power entered the alliance and sent a 
force to the Crimea ; it was small, it is true, but so difficult was 
the enterprise that every man found employment. The siege 
went on slowly, from the extent of the waiis and the effective 
resistance made by the enemy. Nicholas of Russia died (March 2), 
but -.the war continued, and after various successes on the part of 
the allies, they entered the doomed city (Sept. 8), though only to 
tind tli at Gortschakoff had crossed his troops over to the north 
side of the harbour. Meanwhile the fleet in the Black Sea. undei 
admiral Lyons, was rendering effective service in the capture of 
K ertch and other coast towns, and the destruction of immense 
magazines, upon which the Russians much depended. In the 
Baltic, Dundas commanded the fleet with as little success as 
his predecessor. 

This war, which proved the bravery of the P^nglish rather thai* 
their forethought, ended in 1856 by the Treaty of Paris, by 
which Russia agreed to forego the demands that led to the war: 
to abolish her protectorate 'n the Danubian principalities: to 



VICTORIA. 233 

establish a new frontier for Bessarabia ; to dismantle the fortifica- 
tions of Sebastopol : and to keep in the Black Sea only a few 
armed vessels as a maritime police. 

VIII. Rebellion in India. 1857—1859. 

More than one cause has been assigned for this outbreak on 
the part of the native population. Some assign as the reason, a 
rumour that the English had projected the abolition of all native 
creeds ; by others, a cause is found in the introduction of greased 
cartridges, to be used in the Enfield rifles, for the Hindoo vene- 
rates the cow, and the Mahommedan detests the hog. The storm 
broke out first at Meerut ( L857), and Delhi was soon in the hands 
of the mutineers ; the sepoys generally fell from their allegiance, 
and revelled in savagery. In many places the English were 
murdered under circumstances of revolting cruelty, particularly 
at Cawnpore, where the barbarous Nana Sahib murdered all the 
women and children. For a time it was thought that all was lost, 
but the bravery of our troops led on by such men as Havelock, 
Campbell, and others, after much endurance and loss of life, suc- 
ceeded in putting down the rebellion. One result of this out- 
break was the transfer of the English dominions in H'indostan 
from the East India Company to the Queen of England ; this 
change drew after it another, the appointment of a secretary of 
state for India, and a council of fifteen persons, who may be said 
to be the rulers of that vast empire. 

Miscellaneous Facts. By an act of the general assembly of 
the Church of Scotland in 1834, the presbyteries were prohibited from 
instituting any person presented to a living, if a majority of the house- 
holders in the parish objected to him. As this veto act nullified the 
rights of patrons they tried their cause in the civil courts and ob- 
tained a favourable decision. The other party then appealed to the 
house of lords, but there also it was decided in favour of the patrons. 
In 1813, the appellants, who maintained the supremacy and inde- 
pendence of the church in ecclesiastical matters, seceded in large 
numbers, and founded the Free Church of Scotland. 

The year 1851 will always be memorable for the Great "Exhibition 
of the Industry of all Nations. For the purpose of this exhibition. 
*n immense building of glass, called the Crystal Palace, was erected 
in Hyde Park, London. Into its area were collected raw material 
and industrial products from all parts of the world. It remained 
open for more than five months, and during that time was visited by 
upwards of 6,000,000 persons. 

Chronicle. 1837, First electrical telegraph in England, invented 
by Wheatstone. 1838, First steam-ship, the Great Western, crosses 
the Atlantic from Bristol to New York, in fifteen days. 1839, In- 
vention of the Daguerreotype. 1840, Uniform penny postage tomes 
uito operation. 1841, Opening of the Gre*fc Western railroad. 1843 

Q 



234 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

Foundation laid of the new Royal Exchange. 1843, Opening ol the 
Thames Tunnel. 1845, Discovery of gutt-a percha. 1846, Invention 
Of gun-cotton. 1847, Discovery of the gold region in California. 1849, 
Repeal of the navigation laws. 1850, Submarine telegraph laid down 
between Dover and Calais. Opening of the Britannia tubulat 
bridge. 1851, Commencement of the Australian gold diggings. The 
Great Exhibition in Hyde Park. 1854, Substitution of the Minia 
rifle for the old musket. 1858, Launch of the Great Eastern steam- 
Ship— length 691 feet, tonnage 22,500. 



Social life in the Hanoverian Period. 

1. Food. The English, always noted for eating and drinking, made 
great advances in this period towards an improved style of living. 
During the time of the Stuarts only a small part of the people ate 
uneaten bread, at the accession of George III., it was calculated that 
five-eighths did so: the remainder, chiefly in the north, ate rye, 
barley, and oats. Great efforts were made to improve and increase 
the staple food. In the reign of George III. nearly 3,000,000 acres 
were enclosed and brought into cultivation, and yet the quantity was 
insufficient. During the long French wsr, bread rose to a famine 
price, and great difficulty was experienced \y the poor to provide food 
at all. After several changes in the corn laws, a rather formidable 
agitation led to their removal altogether, sivice that time, tms kind of 
food has genera, ly been remarkably cheap. The use ol potato^ aw 
*u article of food greatly increased, til.' among the poorest clashes ih^y 
iwame the main support of lute ; hence the failure of the potato crops, 
wLtlly or partially, br^ughv" distress to this country as well as to Ire- 
land. Other kinds of veget&Mes became in this period very abunoant. 
In the time of the Stuarts {Ley were luxuries which only the rich 
could count upon, now they are common to every poor man's tabio. 
Tea and coffee, little used till the Hanoverian period commenced, 
gradually superseded the use of beer for breakfast and tea, and what- 
ever may be said to the contrary, much contributed to an improve- 
ment in the morals of the common people. 

i*he furniture of the table kept pace with the more essential part. 
The extraordinary improvement in pottery supplied the tables, even 
of the poorest, ivith plates, basins, cups, &c, of a quality that our 
forefathers never dreamt of, and which only a generation or two 
before, would assuredly have been put in the corner cupboard, and 
exhibited as part of the household gods. 

2. Clothing. The dress of males, which saw little change in the 
reign of Anne and the first two Georges, consisted of a square- cut 
coat with skirts stiffened out with wire or buckram, a waistcoat with 
daps meeting the stockings, which were drawn over so as to hide the 
breeches, hanging cuffs, and lace ruffles. Stockings were blue or 
scarlet, with gold or silver clocks (gussets or ornaments), and the shoe* 
square-toed and short-quartered, witb high red heels, and buckles 
Bats were worn three-cocked or shovelled, till about the time of the 
French Revolution, when the round hat was introduced. The heavy 
eurled wigs gave way to tiewigs, bobwigs, and pigtails. About the same 
time, ruilleg vanishca ».rA shirt collars sprung up : knee breeches gav«, 



TH3 HANOVERIAN PERIOD "35 

place to pantaloons and Hessian boots, which in their turn were super- 
ceded by the short boot, loose trousers, and military frock. These 
changes were not made without disturbances and some distress. First 
eame the metropolitan wig makers, who strongly objected to people's 
wearing their own hair. Then came the buckle makers, for when 
George III. recovered from his first illness the whole wealth of Wal 
sail was distributed over the kingdom in buckles, but the kin? went 
to St. Paul's in strings, thereupon buckles went down, and Walsall 
was nearly ruined. The disuse of wigs, leather breeches, buckles, and 
metal buttons is said to have affected the industry of a million persons. 
Swords, which had always been worn by gentlemen, were gradually 
relinquished, along with other modes, now to be found only in the 
formal court dress. 

The dress of females passed as usual through innumerable changes. 
The most remarkable was the introduction of the hoop petticoat, 
which was so extravagant that writers, of all kinds and all degrees of 
reputation, agreed to ridicule it. On the head were worn small frilled 
caps and gipsy hats, and on the face many elegant patches. In 1776, 
the mountain head-dress came in again, the hair was now topped up 
to the height of eighteen inches with powder and pins, and jrna- 
menfced with flowers and feathers. When this fashion went out the 
hair was worn fuil and flowing, and soon after, the ladies discarded 
the use of powier, but the hoop remained till tlie reign of George IV., 
when it wat 1 succeeced by modest skirts, though these were destined 
to give way to the inflated crinoline. Bonnets passed from gipsies' 
through various stages to the coaishoot, and then the cottage, subse- 
quently they further declined till nothing *as ieft of them out a 
fragment, which by some secret device is made to hang on tee back 
of tLe head. Much of the changing fashion that mar^s the 19th 
century is due to the cheapness of the materia) dov in use for female 
dress, so cheap indeed that servants vie with their mistresses in 
material and style, and are not always to be distinguished. 

3. Dwellings. The improvements in domestic architecture, 
which had their beginning in the preceding period, went on with ac- 
celerated speed. .Not only were the carcasses better built, but every- 
thing in the shape of interior fittings was incomparably superior to 
what had been known before. The workmen were more intelligent, 
their tools better, and a better price could be paid tor their labour. 
Then there were improvements in every kind of hardware glass too 
was cheaper, and sashed windows replaced the dingy lead-hebts, and 
paper hangings came down so low, that they now find a piaoe even in 
country cottages. Furniture of all descriptions has become pient lful, 
and it is not romancing to say, that a working man is now much 
better lodged than was a substantial yeoman in the Stuart period, or 
even a gentleman at the time of the .Reformation. 

4. Amusements. Pugilism, cockfightmg, baiting of buiis, bears, 
and badgers, and other brutalising sports, common enough among our 
ancestors, rapidly declined ; some became extinct, and tno6e that remain 
are patronised by the scum of society. The penoo of transition 
between the old athletic sports and modern indoor amusements, was 
one of unexampled drunkenness. In 1736, there "acre in the out- 
skirts of London more than 7000 places where sua was sold retail 
besides what was told in cellars, garrets, and the streets. 1% wa? to 



236 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY 

restrain this public vice that licenses and spirit duties were raised, 
out the people broke through all restraint, and it was some years 
before the law could be enforced. In the early part of this period 
the system of clubs grew up ; some had political objects, others mere 
lociality. Every person of respectability had his club, where he 
invariably spent part of each day. Besides these, there were coffee 
houses, where, by paying a penny at the door, you had a cup of coffee 
and a newspaper. 

A new kind of amusement developed itself in the shape of musical 
entertainments, with certain accessories ; such were Vauxhall, Rane- 
lagh, and other places. They were fitted up with great splendour, 
and at night illuminated for masques and balls ; moreover eafaing and 
drinking of the best character were provided. At a later period many 
other places, somewhat similar, grew up in suburban districts, reach- 
able by short and agreeable trips by land or water. And the same is 
true of most of our larger provincial towns. At the present time, 
clergymen and others are making considerable efforts to provide 
healthy amusements for the people, and a measure of success has 
followed their benevolent exertions. 

5. Travelling. At the commencement of this period there were 
still but few good roads, in many parts none. In the middle of the 
18th century there was actually built a land light-house, in Lincoln- 
shire, 70ft. high, to direct travellers in the absence of roadways. 
Down to the peace of Paris (1763) little was done, and the greater 
part of the land carriage of goods was done by pack horses. A coach 
ran once a month to Edinburgh, but it was twelve or fourteen days 
doing the journey, for in some places the roads had ruts four feet 
deep. Good turnpike roads are now found everywhere, and of such 
excellent construction, that they can be travelled upon, as well in 
winter as in summer. Even these roaHs, excellent as they are, have 
been to a considerable degree superseded by the introduction of the 
rail, which by its certainty and speed, has brought every part of 
England within the compass of a day's ride. And when the expense 
of travelling cannot be met, the great boon of a penny post places 
within reach of the poorest the means of keeping up a constant in- 
tercourse with their absent friends. 

THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION. 

The supreme power in England rests in the legislature and 
executive conjointly. This constitutes the great excellence of oui 
constitution, and is the foundation of the liberty and other ad- 
vantages enjoyed by the people of these realms. "In all tyran- 
nical governments the supreme magistracy, or the right both of 
making and of enforcing the laws, is vested in one and the same 
man, or one and the same body of men ; and whenever these two 
powers are united together there can be no public liberty." 

I. The Legislature. 
The Legislature or Parliament consists of three estates : — the 
King, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. 



THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION. 237 

In connection with the legislature, the Sovereign alone has th<3 
power to summon, prorogue, or dissolve the parliament — also to 
approve or disapprove of the bills passed by the two houses, but 
has, however, no power of initiation. 

The House of Lords, or Upper House, consists of the Loras 
Spiritual and Lords Temporal. The latter of five degrees — dukes, 
marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons. Ireland contributes 
four prelates and twenty- eight temporal peers ; Scotland sixteen 
temporal peers. The number of temporal peers is indefinite, 
and may be augmented at the pleasure of the sovereign. 

The House of Commons, or Lower House, when complete con- 
sists of 500 representatives for England and Wales, 105 for 
Ireland, and 53 for Scotland, elected by the constituents of 
counties, cities, boroughs, and universities, the persons so elected 
Lot being peers, clergymen, minors, aliens, convicted persons, or 
individuals otherwise disqualified. A member of the commons 
accepting office under the crown, thereby vacates his seat, but 
may be re-elected. All money bills must originate in this house ; 
the Lords may reject, but not alter. 

To legislate, or make a new law, these three estates must agree. 
A bill, with the exception already named, may originate in either 
house, and must pass through certain stages before it becomes 
the law of the land. (1) A motion is made to bring in the bill : 
(2) The bill is read a first time : (3) The bill is read a second 
time : (4) The bill is committed, or referred to a committee to be 
considered clause by clause : (5) The bill is read a third time. 
At any one of these stages the bill breaks down, unless there be 
p majority of the members in its favour. The bill must pass 
through similar stages in the other house. Having done so, it 
only wants the assent of the sovereign to make it law, which 
assent is rarely witheld, and may be given in person or by com- 
mission. 

II. Executive, 

The supreme executive power rests entirely in the sovereign, 
but who, according tothe Coronation Oath, is sworn " to govern 
the people of this kingdom of England, and the dominions thereto 
belonging, according to the statutes in parliament agreed on, and 
the laws and customs of the same." It is, however, a maxim in 
the constitution that the king can do no wrong ; that is, if wrong 
is done, it must be attributed to the bad advice of the king's 
ministers, who are therefore liable to impeachment for acts of bad 
government. 

To assist the sovereign in the government, there are several 
councils charged with this office : such are the High Court oi 



238 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTCE*. 

Parliament, the peers of the realm, the judges, the Privy Council, 
and the Cabinet Council. The two latter take the most pro- 
minent place, so far as the executive is concerned. 

The Privy Council consists of persons of eminence, chosen by 
the sovereign to advise according to their best ability ; but at a 
meeting of the council, only such of them attend as shall receivt 
a special summons to do so. Committees of the Privy Council 
are charged with particular duties ; thus, there are the com- 
mittee for Education, the Poor Law Board, Board of Health. 
Board of Trade, <fec. 

The Cabinet Council consists of the heads of the several de. 
partments of the government, selected by the sovereign, or more 
correctly by the prime minister, from such members of the privy 
council, as can command a majority in the houses of Parliament. 
Such are the Prime Minister, or First Lord of the Treasury : the 
Lord Chancellor, or the legal adviser of the Crown, who is also 
the Keeper of the Great Seal : the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
or the manager of the revenue and expenditure of the United 
Kingdom : the Secretaries of State, for the Home Department, 
Foreign affairs, the Colonies, and for India : the President of the 
Council : the President of the Board of Trade : the Postmaster- 
General : The First Lord of the Admiralty : the Secretary at War : 
sometimes other officers of state have a seat in the Cabinet, 
whilst it may happen that a member of the Cabinet holds no 
office. 

For the administration of justice there are fifteen judges, who 
sit during term time in the Courts of Queen's Bench, Common 
Pleas, and Exchequer, at Westminster, and moreover make cir- 
cuits through the kingdom twice a year, to hear and determine 
civil and criminal causes in the various circuit towns. Minoi 
offences are dealt with at the petty or quarter sessions by tbe 
magistrates. 



CHRONOLOGY 239 



CHRONOLOGY. 

Tformation of the Saxon Kingdoms. Kent by Hengist 455, Susser 
by Ella 477, Wessex by Cerdic 495, Essex by Erkenwine 527, Bemicia 
by Ida 547, Deira by Ella 560, East Anglia by Uffa 571, Mercia by 
Cridda 686. 

Seven Saxon Bretwaldas. Ella of Sussex 491, Ceawlin of Wessex 
560, Ethelbert of Kent 560, Redwald of East Anglia 599, Edwin of 
Northunibria 617, Oswald of Northumbria 634, Oswy of Northum- 
bria 642. 

Saxon Kings. Egbert 800, Ethel wnlf 837. Ethelbald 838, Ethelbert 
860, Ethelred 866, Alfred the Great 871, Edward the Elder 901, Athel- 
sran 925, Edmund 940, Edred 946, Edwy 955, Edgar 958, Edward the 
Martyr 975, Ethelred the Unready 978, Edmund Ironsides 1016, [three 
Danish Kings : — Canute 1016, Harold Harefoot 1035, Hardicanute 
1040,] Edward the Confessor 1042, Harold 1C66. 

Norman Kings. William I. 1066, William II. 1087, Henry I. 1100. 
Stephen 1135. 

Plantagenet Kings. Henry II. 1154, Eichard I. 1189, John 1199, 
Henry III. 1216, Edward I. 1272, Edward II. 1307, Edward III. 1327, 
Richard II. 1377. 

House of Lancaster. Henry IV. 1399, Henry V. 1413, Henry VI. 
1422. 

Souse of York. Edward IV. 1461, Edward V. 1483, Eichard III. 
1483. 

House of Tudor. Henry VII. 1485, Henry VIII. 1509, Edward VI. 
1547, Mary 1553, Elizabeth 1658. 

House of Stuart. James I. 1603, Charles I. 1625, [Commonwealth 
1649,] Charles II. 1660, James II. 1685, William and Mary 1689, 
Anne 1702. 

House of Hanover. George 1. 1714, George 11.1727, George III. 1760, 
George IV. 1820, William IV. 1830, Victoria 1837. 

Epochs in English History. Britain first peopled about B.C. 1055 : 
Caesar's two invasions B.C. 55—4 : Roman Conquest a.d. 43 — 84: Saxon 
Conquest 449 — 600 : Introduction of Christianity by Augustine 597 : 
Danish Invasions 832" -1015: Norman Conquest 1066: Conquest of 
Ireland 1172 : Magna Charta 1215 : First House of Commons 1265 : 
Conquest of Wales 1282: Wars of the Eoses 1455—1485 : Eeformation 
1534: Great Eebellion 1642—1649: Restoration 1660 : Revolution 1688 •, 
Union of England and Scotland 1707 : Union of Great Britain and Ire- 
;ond 1801. 

Celebrated Statutes. Magna Charta 1215: Mortmain Act 1279* 
Statute of Provisors 1344 : Statute of Treasons 1352 : Statute of Premu- 
lire 1393 : Poor Law of Elizabeth 1601 : Petition of Eight 1628 : Cor- 
poration Act 1661 : Act of Uniformity 1662 : Test Act 1673 • Papists' 
Disabling Bill 1678: Habeas Corpus Act 1679: Mutiny Bill 1689 : To- 
leration Act 1689 : Triennial Act 1694 : Treason Bill 1696 : Eiot Act 
1715 ; Septennial Act 1716: Eepeal of Test and Corporation Acts 1828: 
koman Catholic Belief Bill 1829 : Eeform Bill 1832. 

Four Charters of English Liberties. Magna Charta 1215 : Petition 
of Right 1628: Habeas Corpus 1679 : Bill of Rights 1689, with its sup- 
plement the Second Act of Settkrme»t 1701. 



240 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

Establishment of Great Institutions. Feudal System 10*0: England 
divided into circuits for the administration of Justice 1176 : Housed 
Commons 1265 : Convocation 1279 : Modern trial by jury about 14(00 . 
Star Chamber 1487 : High Commission Court 1559 : Poor Law of Eliza- 
beth 1601 : Commencement of a standing army 1660 : Bank of England 
1694: National Debt 1697. 

Inventions and Improvements. Chimneys come into use 1200 : Tiles 
first used for covering houses 1246 : Improvement of mariner's compass* 
1300 : Cannon said to be first used by the English at Cressy 1346 : 
Glazed windows come into use 1350 : London first lighted at night with 
lanterns 1415: Hand fire-arms invented 1430: Caxton introduced 
printing into England 1474 : Coaches first appear in England 1555 : 
Manufacture of cotton commenced 1621 : First newspaper published 
1622 : Hackney coaches appear in the streets of London 1625 : Estab- 
lishment of a post office 1635 : Barometer invented 1643 : Toll-gates set 
up 1663 : Tea and coffee come into use 1669 : Royal Observatory founded 
at Greenwich 1676 : Charity schools first opened 1688 : Savery's steam- 
engine invented 1697 : First daily newspaper 1709 : Inoculation for the 
small-pox introduced 1721 : Fahrenheit's thermometer invented 1730 : 
Reformation of the Calendar 1752 : Watt improves the steam-engine 
1765 : Spinning-jenny and spinning-frame invented 1767 : Mule-jenny 
invented 1775 : Power-loom invented, and steam applied to cotton spin- 
ning 1785 : First act for a railroad 1801 : Locomotive engine first used 
on a railroad 1804 : Gas first used in the streets of London 1807 : First 
steamboat in Europe plies on the Clyde 1812 : First steamboat on the 
Thames 1815 : Liverpool and Manchester railroad opened 1830 : First 
electrical telegraph 1837: The first steamship, the Great Western, 
crosses the Atlantic 1838: Uniform penny postage 1840; Submarine 
telegraph between Dover and Calais 1850. 

Battles in the Wars of the Boses. St. Alban's 1455 : Bloreheath and 
Ludlow 1459: Northampton and Wakefield 1460: Mortimer's Cross, 
St, Alban's, and Towton 1461 : Hexham 1464 : Banbury 1469 : Barnet 
and Tewkesbury 1471 : Bosworth 1485. 

Battles in the Great Rebellion. Powick-bridge, Edgehill, and Brent- 
ford 1642 : Reading, Chalgrove, and Newbury 1643 : Nantwich, Crop- 
redv-bridge, Marston Moor, and Newbury 1644 : Naseby and Rowton 
Moor 1645 : Preston 1648. 

Celebrated Naval Battles. Damme 1213, Sluys 1340, Spanish Armada 
1588: — in the first Dutch War, Downs and Goodwin Sands 1652, Port- 
land, North Foreland, and Texel 1653: — in the second Dutch war. Sole- 
bay 1665, Goodwin Sands and North Foreland 1666 : — in the third Dutch 
war, South wold Bay 1672 : — in the French war, Beachy Head 1690, Lt» 
Hogue 1692 : — in the war with Spain, Cape Passaro 1718 : — in the war 
of the Austrian Succession, Cape Finisterre and Belleisle 1747 : — in the 
Seven Years' War, Minorca 1756, Quiberon Bay 1759 : — in the war of 
American Independence, Dogger Bank 1781, Guadaloupe 1782 : — in the 
war of the French Revolution, Brest 1794, St, Vincent and Camperdown 
1797, Nile 1798, Copenhagen, or Battle of the Baltic 1801, Trafalgar 
1 805 : — m the war between Greece and Turkey, Navarino 1827. 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 241 

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN EXAMINATIONS. 
British and Roman Period. 

1. What were the names and localities of the principal British 
tribes ? ?. Give some particulars of Druidisrn. 3. Give some ac- 
count of the institutions and employments of the Britons. 4. Whc 
was Julius Caesar? Give some account of his invasions of Britain. 
5. How do you account for the length of time occupied by the Romans 
in the conquest of Britain ? 6. Give some account of the destruction 
of the Druids by Paulinus, and of the Boadicean revolt. 7. What 
improvements did the Romans effect in Britain? To what extent 
were they permanent ? 8. In what clashes did the Romans rank 
the cities that grew up in Britain? 9. By what tribes was Roman 
Britain invaded ? What measures were taken to protect the parts 
most subject to barbarian insult? 10. Which of the Roman em- 
perors visited Britain? What was the object of each in doing so? 
Which of the emperors died in Britain ? 11. Why did the Romans 
abandon Britain ? 12. How far had the people of Britain been bene- 
fited by the Roman occupation ? 13. What was the condition of 
Britain between the time of the Romans leaving it and the arrival of 
the Saxons ? 

Saxon Period. 

1. Who were the Saxons ? State which of the Saxon kingdoms 
were formed by the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons respectively. 2. Givo, 
with dates, some account of the successive formation of the Saxon 
kingdoms. 3. What became of the Britons when dispossessed by the 
Saxons? 4. Who were the Saxon Bretwaldas? Give their names, 
and any particulars you may remember of their history. 5. Under 
what circumstances was Christianity introduced into the Saxon king- 
doms ? 6. Which of the kingdoms became most powerful during the 
latter period of the Saxon Heptarchy ? 7. Give some particulars of 
Venerable Bede, and of Offa of Mercia. 8. Under what circumstances 
were the Saxon kingdoms consolidated ? Who may be accounted the 
first king of England ? 9. Give some particulars of the reign of 
Egbert. 10. Who were the Danes ? Give, with dates, some particu- 
lars of the three great Danish invasions. 11. Sketch the reism of 
Alfred the Great. 12. Sketch the reigns of Edward the Elder and 
Athelstan. 13. Who was Dunstan ? What was the main object of 
his policy ? 14. Give particulars of the reign of Ethelred the Unready. 
15. What three Danish kings ruled in England? Give some account 
of Canute. 16. Sketch the reign of Edward the Confessor, and show 
how his kingdom became weakened. 17. Sketch the reign of Harold 
the Saxon. 18. Give an account of the battle of Senlac (Hastings) 
19. What were the principal prerogatives of the Saxon kings ? What 
were the duties of aldermen in the Saxon period ? 20. Give some par- 
ticulars respecting thanes, ceorls, and thralls. 21. How was the Witana- 
gemot constituted? What were its functions ? 22. What courts had 
the Saxons for the administration of justice? 23. Give some account of 
Ihe modes of trial in use during the Saxon period. 24> How far is it 



242 OUTLINES OF KNULI8H HISTORY. 

true that trial by jury was a Saxon institution? 25. What modes of 
punishment prevailed among: the Saxons ? 26. Give some account of 
Saxon paganism. 27. To what extent may any of our existing; institu- 
tions be traced up to Saxon times? 28. What were the habits of the 
Saxons with respect to food and clothing ? 29. State particulars of the 
Saxon dwellings and furniture. 

Norman Period. 

1. Write biographical sketch?? of William I. and his consort. 2 
What circumstances in the lata. Saxon period may be said to havt 
prepared the way for the Norman conquest ? 3. What difficulties 
did William have to encounter befoie the conquest of England was 
completed ? 4. What were the principal results of the Norman con- 
quest? 6. Give a general account of the feudal system. 6. Give a 
particular account of the feudal incidents. 7. What were the purpose 
and character of the Domesday Book? 8. What was the Curfew Bell ? 
What misunderstanding has there been with respect to it? 9. Give 
some account of the character and death of William Eufus. 10. 
. What occasioned the disputes between William II. and Robert of 
Normandy ? How did they terminate ? 11. What was the general 
character of the government of William II. ? 12. Write biographical 
sketches of Henry I. and his consort. 13. What originated the 
Crusades? Give particulars of the first crusade. 14. Under what 
circumstances did Robert of Normandy lose his duchy ? What was 
the ultimate fate of the duke ? 15. What was the dispute with respect 
to investiture ? How was it settled ? 16. Give some account of 
Henry I.'s charter. 17. Write biographical sketches of Stephen and his 
consort. 18. Account tor the successful usurpation of Stephen. 19. Give 
an account of the civil war that grew out of Stephen's usurpation. 

20. What was the condition of England during the reign of Stephen ? 

21. To what extent did the Normans differ from the Saxons in the matter 
of food and clothing? 22. What changes took place in the construc- 
tion of dwellings subsequently to the Norman conquest ? 23. What 
were the relations between England and Scotland during the 
Norman period. 

Plantagenet Period. 

1. Write biographical sketches of Henry II. and his consort. 2. 
Enumerate the dominions of Henry II., and show how he came by 
such extensive possessions. 3. What were the Constitutions oi 
Clarendon, and the causes which led to their enactment? 4. Relate 
the quarrel, and its issue, between Henry and Becket. 5. Give an 
account of the conquest of Ireland. 6. What were the family troubles 
of Henry II. ? Account for them. 7. What courts were origintitea 
by distributing the functions of the King's Court (Curia Regis) 8. 
What institution of the reign of Henry II. has been called the second 
stage of trial by jury ? 9. What was scutage ? How did it originate 1 
10. Write biographical sketches of Richard I. and his consort. 11. 
Give some account of Richard's part in the third crusade. 12. Whai 
was the condition of England during the absence of Richard I. ? 13. 
State some particulars of the lnvt published by Richard I. for the 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 243 

preservation of order in his fleet. 14. Write biographical sketches of 
John and his consort. 15. What circumstances in the reign of John led 
to the loss of the provinces which the English held in France 7 

16. Give particulars of the quarrel between king John and pope Innocent, 

17. What is an interdict ? What an excommunication ? 18. What were 
the principal points in the Magna Charta ? 19. Under what circum- 
stances was the Magna Charta obtained ? 20. What circumstances led 
to a war between John and his barons after the granting of Magna 
Charta? 21. Write biographical sketches of Henry III. and his 
consort. 22. Give some account of the government during the minority 
of Henry III. 23. What were the circumstances that led to the calling 
of the first House of Commons ? 24. Account for the reaction in favoui 
of Henry III. 25. Who were the Mendicants ? When did they first 
enter England ? 

26. Write biographical sketches of Edward I. and his consorts. 27. 
Give an account of the reduction of Wales by Edward I. 28. Narrate 
the particulars of Edward I.'s wars with Scotland. 29. When and 
under what circumstances was the " Scottish War of Independence " 
carried on? 30. What were our relations with France during the 
reign of Edward I. ? 31. When and for what purpose was the statute 
of Mortmain passed ? 32. When did the Convocation have its origin * 
What caused its decline ? 33. Write biographical sketches of Edward 
II. and his consort. 34. What influence had Gaveston on public 
affairs in the reign of Edward II. ? 35. Narrate the circumstances 
connected with the battle of Bannockburn. 36. What led to the 
deposition of Edward II. ° 37. Who were the Knight Templars ? 
When and why was that order suppressed in England? 38. Write 
biographical sketches of Edward III. and his consort. 39. Give an 
account of public affairs during the minority of Edward III. 40. 
Under what circumstances was the battle of Halidon Hill fought* 
41. On what grounds did Edward III. prefer a cl^im to the throne of 
France? 42. Give some account of Edward III.'s first efforts to 
enforce his claim to the throne of France. 43. What events marked 
the years 1346 — 47? 44. Under what circumstances and with what 
results was the battle of Poitiers fought ? 45. What led to the loss 
of the English possessions in France in the reign of Edward III.? 
46. Give some account of the statutes of Provisos and Treason passed 
in the reign of Edward III. 47. Write biographical sketches of 
Richard II. and his consorts. 48. Narrate the particulars of Wat 
Tyler's insurrection. 49. What causes led to the deposition of .liichard 
11. ? 50. What was the statute of Praemunire? 51. Write vrhat you 
kilow of John Wickliffe and his followers. 62. What changes are 
noticeable in the matter of food and clothing in the Plantagenet period ? 
>3. How far were improvements made in domestic architecture in the 
Plantagenet period ? 54. Give some account of the tournaments which 
characterized the Plantagenet period. 

Lancastrian and Yorkist Periods. 

1. Write biographical sketches of Henry IV. and his consort. 

2. Narrate the particulars connected with the battle of Shrewsbury. 

3. What were our relations with France in the reign of Henry IV. f 
i. Who were the Loll&rdtt? G*¥e some account of their persecution 



24 4 OUTLINES OK ENGLISH HISTORY. 

fn the reigns of Henry IV. and V. 5. Write biographical sketches 
of Henry V. and his consort. 6. Under what circumstances did 
Henry V. revive the claims of Edward III. to the throne of France ? 
7. Give an account of Henry V.'s campaigns in France. 8. Write 
biographical sketches of Henry VI. and his consort. 9. Relate the 
circumstances of the final loss of the possessions held by the English 
in France. 10. Give the particulars of Cade's insurrection. 11. What 
were the causes and results of the Wars of the Roses ? 12. Write, with 
dates, a list of the principal battles in the Wars of the Roses. 13. 
Write biographical sketches of Edward IV. and his consort. 14. 
Give an account of the deposition and restoration of Edward IV. 

15. Write biographical sketches of Richard III. and his consort. 

16. What were the principal events in the reign of Richard III. ? 17. 
Give some particulars respecting food and dress in the loth century. 

18. What is noticeable with respect to dwellings in the loth century ? 

19. What was the character of the secular and religious plays of the 
Middle Ages ? 

Tudor Period. 

1. Write biographical sketches of Henry VII. and his consort. 

2. What were the claims of Henry VII. to the throne of England ? 

3. Narrate the particulars of SimnePs insurrection. 4. Give some 
account of the war with France in the reign of Henry VII. 6. Relate 
the particulars of Warbeck's insurrection. 6. What institutions of 
the reign of Henry VII. had a tendency to reduce the power of the 
nobles ? 7. What maritime discoveries marked the reign of Henrv 
VII.? 8. Write a biographical sketch of Henry VIII. 9. Write 
biographical sketches of the two queens whom Henry VIII. divorced. 
10. Write biographical sketches of the two queens whom Henry VIII. 
beheaded. 11. Write biographical sketches of Jane Seymour and 
Catherine Parr, consorts of Henry VIII. 12. Narrate the particulars 
of Henry VIII.'s first war with France and Scotland. 13. Narrate 
the particulars of Henry VIII.'s second war with France and Scot- 
land. 14. Narrate the particulars of Henry VIII.'s third war with 
Scotland and France. 15. Write what you know of Cardinal Wolsey. 
16. What were the causes of the Reformation in England ? 17. Give 
some account of the dissolution of the monasteries, and the application 
of the property derived from this spoliation. 18. What was done in 
the reign of Henry VIII. for the circulation of the vernacular Scrip- 
tures ? 19. To what extent were the doctrines of the Church altered 
in Henry VIII.'s reign? 20. How do you account for the almost 
despotic power exercised by Henry VIII. ? 21. What changes were 
made in the government of Wales and Ireland in the reign of Henry 
VIII. ? 22. Why is Henry spoken of as the founder of the Royal 
Navy? 

23. Write a biographical sketch of Edward VI. 24. Give an account 
of the war with Scotland in the reign of Edward VI. 25. Whar, 
progress was made in the Reformation in Edward VI.'s reign ? 26. 
What causes led to the popular insurrections in 1519 ? 27. Who wai 
Protector Somerset? What occasioned his fall? 28. Write a bii>- 
graphical sketch of Mary I. 29. Who was Lady Jane Grey ? Giva 
an account of her usurpation. 30. Relate some particulars connected 
with the restoration of Romanism by Mary. 31. Give thv particular* 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. 245 

d Wyatt's insurrection. 32. Write an account of tne Marian perse- 
cution. 33. What circumstances led to the loss of Calais in 1558 r 
84. Write a biographical sketch of Queen Elizabeth. 35. What were 
the difficulties which beset Elizabeth at her accession ? 36. Give an 
account of the completion of the Reformation by Elizabeth. 37. 
What circumstances originated the courts of Star Chamber and High 
Commission ? 38. What religious parties troubled the reign of Eliza- 
bath ? How were they dealt with ? 39. Sketch the life of Mary of 
Scots to the time of her taking refuge in England. 40. Give some 
reasons which influenced the English government in detaining Mary 
of Scots in England. 41. What plots were formed in England in 
favour of Mary of Scots ? 42. What was the immediate occasion of the 
execution of Mary of Scots ? How far was this act justifiable ? 43. 
Relate the story of the Spanish Armada. 44. Give particulars of the 
Irish Rebellion in the reign of Elizabeth. 45. What changes took 
place in the matter of food and clothing in the Tudor period P 46. 
Give some particulars of the changes in domestic architecture in the 
16th century. 47. What facilities were there for travelling in the 
16th century ? 

Stuart Period. 

1. Write biographical sketches of James I. and his consort. 2. By 
what right did James I. take the throne of England ? 3. Give some 
account of the Main and Bye Plots. 4. What was the Millenary 
Petition ? What did it lead to ? 5. Relate the particulars of the 
Gunpowder Plot. 6. Who were Robert Carr and George Villiers ? 
What part did they iake in public affairs during the reign of James 
I. ? 7. Under what circumstances were English and Scotch colonies 
planted in Ireland ? 8. Give particulars of the first colonies founded 
by the English in North America? 9. What do you know of Sir 
Walter Raleigh ? 10. Write biographical sketches of Charles I. and 
his consort. 11. What caused the contentions between Charles I. 
and his first three parliaments? 12. Give particulars of the Petition 
of Right and the circumstances under which it was passed. 13. Give 
some account of the wars with Spain and Prance in the reign of 
Charles I. 14. What was the character of Charles's government 
between the years 1629 and 1640 ? 15. What was ship-money ? By whom 
was its payment resisted and with what result P 16. What led to the 
National Covenant in Scotland ? 17. What movements ended in the 
Pacification of Berwick, and the Treaty of Ripon ? 18. Under what 
circumstances did the Short Parliament meet? Why did it obtain 
that name? 19. What were the first measures of the Long Parlia- 
ment ? 20. Why were the courts of Star Chamber and High Com- 
mission abolished ? 21. What occasioned the Irish Rebellion of 
1641? 22 What causes in 1 need Charles I. to separate his interests 
from that of the parliament ? 23. What was the immediate cause of 
the civil war of 1642 ? 24. Give, in the order of time, the principal 
battles in the civil war between Charles and his parliament. 25. Dis- 
tinguish between the National Covenant and the Solemn League and 
Covenant. 26. What mVs the Self-denying Ordinance? What pur 
pose was it intended to serve ? 27 Give particulars of the battles of 
Marston Moor and Nase'jy. 28. Under what circumstauces did 
Charles I. join and quit the Scotch army* 29. What w&s the 



246 OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HJSTOilY. 

character jf the struggle of parties in 1647 ? 30. What occasioned 
the second civil war in 1648 ? 31. What is meant ty Pride's Purge. 
32. Give an account of the trial and execution of Charfes I. 

33. Write biographical sketches of Oliver and Richard Cromwell 

34. What form of government was established at the death of Charles 1. 1 

35. Give some account of the reduction of Ireland to the Common- 
wealth. 36. Under what circumstances were the battles of 
Dunbar and Worcester fought ? 37. What were the causes and re- 
sults of the first Dutch war? 38. Give, in the order of time, the 
principal events in the first Dutch war. 39. Why were the Rump 
and the Barebones parliaments so called ? Give particulars of one of 
them. 40. Under what circumstances did Oliver Cromwell become 
Protector ? 41. Give some particulars of the Instrument of Govern- 
ment and the Humble Petition and Advice. 42. What was the 
general character of Cromwell's government ? 43. Give an account 
of the protectorate of Richard Cromwell. 44. Who were the princi- 
pal actors in public affairs after the resignation of Richard Cromwell ? 
45. What part did General Monk play in the Restoration ? 46 .What 
was the Declaration of Breda? 47. Account for the general desire 
that existed for the restoration of Charles II. 48. Relate the case of 
Oames Nay lor, and show what point it illustrates. 49. Write bio- 
graphical sketches of Charles II. and his consort. 50. What was 
dono» at the Restoration for the settlement of the revenue ? 51. Give 
particulars oi' the Corporation Act and the Act ot Unifo/m:'ty. 52. 
Give particulars of the Convmticie and Five Mile Acts. 63. What 
were the causes and results ol the second DuU'h wa ? 64. Give, in 
the order of time, the principal event? in the s^cund l'utch var. 55. 
KVlate wbat you know ot the Great Plague. 50. Give particulars of 
the Fire of London. 57. What was the Triple Alliance ? By what 
ministry was it promoted ? 58. Give particulars of the Treaty of 
l^over and the results that grew out of it. 59. What were the causes 
and results of the third Dutch warf 60. What were the principal 
events in the third Dutch war ? 61. Give some particulars of the 
popish plots. 62. When were the Test Act and the Papists' Disabling 
Bill passed ? What was their object ? 63. Give some particulars tc 
show the purpose of the Habeas Corpus Act. 64. Under what cir- 
cumstances did the terms Whig and Tory originate ? 65. Give somi 
account of the political plots of 1683. 6G. What was the condition of 
Scotland during the reign of Charles II.? 

67. Write biographical sketches of James II. and his consorts. 68. 
Give an account of Argyle's insurrection and the causes that led to 
it. 69. Give particulars of Monmouth's insurrection and the results- 
that followed it. 70. By what methods did James II. attempt to re- 
establish Romanism ? 71. Give some account of the Revolution of 
1688. 72. What were the causes and results of the Revolution of 
1688? 73. What was done during the interregnum that followed th » 
flight of James II. ? 74. What is a convention parliament ? How 
many do you know of? Under what circumstances was each called? 
75. Give particulars of the first Act of Settlement. 76. Give par- 
ticulars of the Declaration of Rights. 77. What are called the four 
preat charters of English liberties ? 78. Give some account of the 
Edict of Nantes and its revocation. 79. Write biographical sketches 
erf William III. And his omsort. £0 Give particular* of the Mutiny 



EXAMINATION QCJESTI0N8. 247 

Act and tne Toleration Act of 1689. 81. What circumstances led to 
the battle of the Boyne ? 82. What were the principal articles in 
the treaty of Limerick, 1691 ? How was this treaty violated ? 83. 
What was the Darien Scheme, and what results grew out of it ? 84. 
Why was the government of William III. unpopular ? 85. What 
were the causes and results of the war with France in the reign of 
William III. ? 86. What were the principal events in the war with 
France, 1689 — 1697 ? 87. Give particulars of the second Act of Settle- 
ment, and the causes which made it necessary. 88. What causes ar« 
assigned for the origin of the National Debt? 89. What do you 
know of the two partition treaties ? 90. Write a biographical sketch 
jf Queen Anne. 91. What were the principal articles in the Scotch 
Union Bill ? 92. What circumstances seemed to make the union of 
England and Scotland one of necessity ? 93. Give some account of 
the impeachment ot Dr. Sacheverell. 94. Give some account of the 
contentions between the whigs and tories during the reign of Anne. 
95. What were the causes and results of the war of the Spanish Suc- 
cession? 96. What were the principal events in the war of the Spanish 
Succession ? 97. What is meant by Queen Anne's Bounty ? 98. What 
improvements took place in the matter of food during the Stuart period ? 
99. What were the changes in costume in the 17th century ? 100. 
What changes took place in domestic architecture in the 17th centurv ? 
101. What class of amusements mark the 17th century? 102. How 
^ere the means of intercommunication improved ill the Stuart 
period r' 

Hanoverian Period. 

1. W ritp biographical sketches of George I. and his consort. 2. By 
what right did George I. take the throne of England ? 3. Give an 
account of the Rebellion of 1715. 4. What circumstances originated 
the Riot Act ? 5. When were the Triennial and Septennial Acts 
passed ? Why were they thought necessary ? 6. Give particulars of 
the South Sea Bubble. 7. Give particulars of the Quadruple Alliance, 
and of the events that grew out of it. 8. Write biographical sketches 
of George II. and his consort. 9. Give some account of Walpole's 
administration. 10. What were the causes of the war with Spain 
commeT\ciii & in 1739 P 11. What were the causes of the war of the 
Austrian Succession ? 12. What were the principal events in the 
war 1739—1748 r 13. Narrate the particulars of the Rebellion of 1745. 
14. What were the causes and results of the Seven Years' War? 15. 
What were the principal events in the Seven Years' War ? 16. What 
circumstances prepared India for English conquest ? 17. Give some 
account of Robert Clive and his Indian career. 18. Narrate the par- 
ticulars of the Black Hole Tragedy. 19. Give some account of the 
origin of the Methodists. 20. What is meant by the Reformation of the 
Calendar ? 21. What change took place in the law of marriage in the 
reign of George II. ? 

22. Write biographical sketches of George III. and his consort. 
23. Narrate the affair of John Wilkes. 24. What were the causes of 
the American War of Independence ? 25. What were the principal 
events in the war of American Independence ? 26. Hew do you 
account for the success of the American yioni-ste ? 27. What were 



£4$ OUTLINES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 

the principal articles in the Treaty of Versailles? 28. Kela f e the 
particulars of the Gordon Riots. 29. What were the causes that led 
to the French Revolution ? 30. What induced the English to 
engage in the war of the French Revolution ? 31. Write briefly the 
principal events in the French war, 1793 — 1802. 32. What great naval 
battles were fought during the French war, 1793—1802 ? Give par- 
ticulars of one of them. 33. Relate some particulars of the mutiny 
of the British seamen in 1797. 34. What were the principal articles 
in the Treaty of Amiens ? 35. Give some account of the Rebellion 
in Ireland, 1798, and of the causes that led to it. 36. What were the 
principal articles in the Irish Union Bill ? 37. What causes led to a 
renewal of the war with France 1803 ? 38. What were the principal 
events in the war between 1803 and 1807 ? 39. Give some particulars of 
the Boulogne flotilla and the battle of Trafalgar. 40. What led the 
English to engage in the Peninsular War ? 41. What were the 
principal victories won by the English in the Peninsular War? 42. 
Give some account of Napoleon's expedition to Moscow. 43. Give 
some particulars of the battle of Waterloo, and show why a battle was 
fought there. 44. Write what you know of .the career of Napoleon 
Buonaparte. 45. What were the principal articles in the first and 
second Treaties of Paris ? 46. What conclusions were arrived at by 
the Congress of Vienna P 47. What were the cause and results of 
the war with the United States of America, 1812—1814? 48. What 
were the events in the war with America, 1812 — 1814? 49. What was 
the general condition of our affairs in India during the reign of 
George III. ? 50. What institutions for the education of the people 
had their origin in the reign of George III. ? 

51. Write biographical sketches of George IV. and his consort. 52. 
What was the general condition of England after the close of the war 
in 1815 ? 53. What concessions were made to dissenters in the reign 
of George IV.? 54. Under what circumstances was the battle of 
Navanno fought ? 55. Write biographical sketches of William IV. 
and his consort. 66. What was the character of the Reform Bill of 
1832? What was said to be the necessity for this measure? 57. What 
important measures were passed during the first four sessions of the 
Reformed Parliament ? 58. Write a biographical sketch of her most 
gracious majesty Queen Victoria. 69. What disturbances marked the 
early part of Victoria's reign? 60. What were the character and 
purpose of the movement headed by Daniel O'Conneil ? 61. What 
trade restrictions were removed between the years 1840 and 1849 ? 62. 
Give some account of the Rebellion in Canada, 1837. 63. Narrate par- 
ticulars of the war in Syria, 1840. 64. What were the c mses and results 
of the war with China, 1840—1842 ? 65. Relate the story of the fatal 
retreat from Cabul. 66. Give some particulars of the Sikh war. 67. 
What were the causes and results of the war with Russia, 1854 — 1856 ? 

68. What were the principal events in the war with Russia, 1854 — 1856? 

69. Give some account of the Rebellion m India, 1857 — 1859. 70. What 
improvements have taken place in food and clothing since the commence- 
ment of the Hanoverian dynasty ? 71. What improvements in travelling 
ttuirk the Hanoverian period ? 



Saxon Kings of England. 

Egbert, 827. 

Ethelwulf, 837. 

J — j j 1 

Ethelbald, 858, Ethelbert, 860. Ethelred, 866. Alfred, 871. 

f 

Edward the Elder, 901. 

L 



Athelstan, 925. Edmund, 940. Edred, 946 



! I 

Edwy, 955. Edgar, 958 

, L_ 

Edward the Martyr, 975. Ethelred the Unready, 978 

i j j j 

Edmund Ironside, 1016. Edwy. Alfred. Edward the Confessob, 
| 1042. 

Edmund. Edward the Exile. 

l 



Edgar Atheling. Margaret, m. Christina, 

Malcolm III. 



i 



David L Matilda, m. Mary, m. 

Henry 1. 1100. Count of Boulogne. 

Matilda, m. 
Stephen, 1135. 

Anglo-Danish Kings. 
Sweyn. 

Canute, 1016. 

I 

Sweyn ot Norway. Harold I. 1035. Hardicanute, 1040. 

E 



<< Ot 






bo 

a 

■1-4 

S « 

H CO 

d> © 
bfl " 



c3 



o 



s_ 



8 * 

WO H 
l " H © ^ 



O 88 



.5 a 

—a is 

-" o 



i 






IS 

# c3 o 



■Si 

.2^ 



5 ^ 
-^ ,— o — 

a 



3 o 



- I a 

£ £ f 

© © ^ 

W W PQ 



•2 5 



-*l 



Si 

c p 



bcj4 
c - 

o3 O 

O o 
•^ © 

0* 

P P 






-3"_1 



I 





P 




O 2 




5^ 3J 




M ° 




o © 


M 


•■»•- 


1— 1 


P 


'd 


T3 


'£ 




o3 




P 


Cm 


~ 


O 

© . 




^j © 


© 


P 2 


C 


iS fl 


oS 


— © 


h» 


2-3 




§^ 






p 



-|l 



L-^ 3 2 ' 



i 



Lancastrian and Yorkist Kings. 

11. Edward III 1327. 

I 



Lionel, duke of 
Clarence. 



iof< 



John of Gaunt, 
duke of Lancaster. 



(by Bla-iche 
of Lancaster) 

13. Henry IV. 1399. 

14. Henry V. 1413. 

15. Henry VI. 1422. 

Prince Edward, slain 
at Tewkesbury, 1471. 



(by Catherine 
Swynford) 

John Beaufort, 
duke of Somerset. 

I 
John Beaufort. 

1 



Edmund, <5uke 
of York. 

Richard, 

earl of 

Cambridge, 

m. Ann, 

heiress of 

Lionel, duke 

of Clarence. 



Margaret, m. Edmund, 
son of Owen Tudor. 

I 
19. Henry VII. 1485. 



Philippa, m» 

Edmund Mortimer, 

earl of March. 

i 

Roger, earl of March, 
killed in Ireland, 1399. 

Ann, m. Richard, 

carl of Cambridge, who 

was beheaded, 1415. 

Richard, duke of York, 
slain at Wakefield, 1460. 



16. EBWARD IV. 1461. Elizabeth, Margaret, George, 
m. John m. Charles duke of 

de la Pole, the Bold, Clarence. 

duke duke 

of Suffolk, of Burgundy, 

Earl of Lincoln, 1™ 

killed 1487. Edward, earl 

of Warwick, 

personated 

17. Edward V. Richard, Elizabeth, m. by 



18. 



Ricttatjd III 
1483. 



1483. 



duke (19) Henry L. Simnel. 
cf York. VII. 



Margaret, counter 

of Salisbury, 

executed 1541, 

! 

Cardinal Pole^ 
died 1558. 



The Tudor Sovereigns. 



19. Henry VII. 1485. 



Arthur, m. 

Catherine of Aragon, 

died 1502. 



I 



I 



20. Henry VIII. 1509. Margaret. Mary, m. 

Louis XII. of France. 

and Charles Brandon 

duke of Suffolk. 



(by Jane Seymour) (by Catherine (by Anne Boleyn) 

of Aragon) 
21. Edward VI. 23. Elizabeth, 

1547. 22. Mary I. 1558. 

1553. 



Frances, m. 

Henry Grey, 

marquis of Dorset 



(by James IV. 
of Scotland) 

James V. of 
Scotland. 

i 

Mary, queen of Scots, 
m. earl of Darnley. 

24. James 1. 1603. 



(by Archibald Douglas, 
earl of Angus) 

Margaret, m. 
earl of Lennox. 

i 



Earl of Darnley, 
m. Mary of Scots. 



Charles Stuart, 
earl of Lennox. 



24. James I. Lady Arabella Stuart, 
1603. m. William Seymour. 



Lady Jane Grey, 
Shaded 1554. 



Lady Catherine Grey, 
m. earl of Hertford. 

Edward Seymour, 
lord Beauchamp. 

William Seymour, m. 
Lady Arabella Stu&rt. 



02 

SP«5 

Q? O 
*H CO 

CD i-H 
> 






<D CM 



.35 

— a <x> Ph 





CM 

CD 



a 
o 



CM 



CM 

CD 
1—1 



C3 ^ 

- . £ -S ^ - 

d ^ ±? 

,f dO 



W 



a 




-bS 2 — 2 

•^ O 



o „ 

r*4 -»3 CD 

^ 5R cd 

' g-2 



00 
CM 






w 



CO 

CD 



CM 



o 

CD 
CD 



h3 

o 

CD 
CM 



C3 

o 






<D 

W 




O 

J-3 



a3 

3 



o a 

-I 2. 

is 



.1 
B J 

<q o 
o kp 

CM g 
© 

O 
P 



2 b-i o 



t> -4-3 CO 

<D e3 a> 




-a 

c8 



P3 



02 $3 

c ,£5 
2 o 



a 



a 






8PLH 



bo 



o ^ 

m ^ 

I 1 

<D O 

> &3 

1° 

WO 
CO 



_T*H 


r i 


-2 o 




o -~ 


11 


02 & 


p3 3 


© 


£'3 

<D 




.^s 




J3 




^ 



(M 



© 



•e > *o 

«£* © © 



K CO 

SP«H 



© 

O 
. © 

SO 

"-* © 

o 

© 

© 



o 
o 



o 

O 

C5 



CO 



=3 fciD 
ec? £ 

-la- 

-oO 

■^ m 
<j o 

00 CO 

■SO" 

fcJD O 

2 © 

-* S 

~ <x> 
— -^ .a . 

§1 

1— 1 m 
O 



O . 

© © 

^r£P 

© 



O 



•^ O 
W © 

1 



20 
-►J CO 



G ,H 



tD . 

c *-• 
.E © 

^ > 



o 

co 
00 



10 

CO 



CO 



M 

© ^ 



P=H 



o 

00 



CO 



CO ,— . 

© .2 



Claimants to the Throne of Scotland in Edward X, 
David I. 1124. 

Henry, prince of Scotland. 



!01M IV. 1153. William the Lion, 1165. 
Alexander II. 1214. 
Alexander III. 1249. 

i 

Margaret, m. 
Eric, king of Norway. 

Margaret, 1286, 
the Maid of Norway. 



David, 
earl of Huntingdon 



Vlargaret, m. 
m of Galloway. 

Devorgild, m. 
fohn Balliol. 

n Balliol, 1292 
^Competitor). 



I 

Isabella, m. 

Robert Bruce. 

i 

Robert Bruce 
(Competitor). 

i 

Robert Bruce. 
Robert Bruce, 1306. 



Ada, m. 
Henry Hastings, 

Henry Hastings, 

I 
John Hastings 
(Competitor). 



i 5.— Matilda, the eldest daughter of Waitheof, earl of Huntingdon (executed 1076), 
married for her second husband David, who subsequently became David L 
of Scotland. In her right, he became earl of Huntingdon, which di£i».iiy 
remained annexed to the twown of Scotland fir some ceziiurigj. 



© 



13 

<3 





ao 






<N 






CO 






TH 




.55 

o 


BV> 




*3 
> 


s s 


'O 

CO 

r— 1 


■ O - 


— A- 




oa 

c8 


o § 


a 
o 


^a 
O 







S t-H ^ B 1? 

"■-■ g B 3 






o 

CD 

co 



i 

3 






00 






-P3 H fcJO. 


T3 -+ 
£ <d 


Isabe 
Edwa 
of En 


T3 O 
HO 




S-* 


<M 




(M 




00 tZ 




-M> 




> -a 




J-H PS 








hJ © 




P5 PI 




<d o 




W 




o 


b t: 



a> 



CD 



CD 
i—l 

co 

tH 
Ph 






i - 

CO 



r£5 - 

<D 3 
OT3 



S 8 3 P* — 5 



o 3 fa £ 



« -OP 



^ 1 N 
•§ £*& 

O ^ a 

§ 2 -2 ^ 

.9 «J fcO 

A £ -S 

o 

J3 



SS'S 



73 '^ w 3 

3° S ° 

„ ° -2 H3 

«8 ~, d 9 

o ^ o 



© 
cud g 
o M 

© 



TO 13 

© 5 



en O 

If 

1 | 

2 * 

3 25 



o a? 



he ^ .2 £ 



cf id 
.2 m S ^ 



§ 

CD 

& 

.a 

§ 

^ - 

f ^ = 1 8 3 

^3 O c3 S d 

1*M« 



o 



1 a 



P> -+3 






S 

1 
j 



2S^ 

cu _ c3 



a 






id 
o 

•+3 

CO 



g o ; 



2 9 



fi 






O ^ 

«-i -d 
1^ 



O 08 



-d 
a .If 

o S € 
d 2 «* 



i 



© H3 -w cS 

! J I a 1 

i § h s M* 

i 6 a " ^ 1 



to P3 S 



•M-Sg-|s 



c 



P5 > 



a> O 
fe © ^3 

8 ° d^ 

® 'S 2 
5 § *| 

a> 



1 

B d s 

OJ * 

1 -° H 

■ .a J 



2 



03 •** fer 

d y ^ © 

« o 3 m 

^ «« d 

^ 8 .9-o 

5 ^ 



CO 



1 g 

5 o 






s 9 



.s * 

'"S d 

a © 



a 



S 5 

*d -g 

« I 
o 



•£ -3 



o 
ft 



WILL-iaM KIDEK AND SON, PRINTB^S, LONDON. 



A/J- 









W 





/* 









^ o- x ^ <3a 



^ ^ 



lF 









% 



%\%\^ : 

























.c. 



<iy 



^0« 



y ^ V| 







^ <*> 











Jp "- 










* * , ^U 









JT +<-><& % dfe*VV 



4 <3* 









^<* ^o* "^ 



^ 



V V ^ 






£ ^ 












^ * 




-w 






■ la— 1 iy> A v 



^ 



■\ 






V * ^ * °\ 



3 ^ cS ^ 






& % - 



<<s 



■ <, 







t: J* % 






G° V 




^ 



C^ 




^ . ^.0* 



$ 



& ^ 



^ 



^_ \> „ -r » o ,. S^_ \> 



"> -% 



• <3l 



V 1 






% 



^ ^ 






^ 



.<£ ^ 



cS> ^ 



v,ry 



^^ ^ ^,^ 






~> Ho 





















LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 933 908 2 



